Sisters of the Covenant
by lilmissmego
Summary: Two sisters are sent to find out what really happened in the most recent battle between good and evil. But their methods of finding the truth will get them into more trouble with the Covenant than they expected.
1. Prologue

A/N: I'm really sorry about this but I did notice a few similarities between characters in my story and those belonging to Dunamess in "What Lies In Between". These similarities are: the fact that my sisters can communicate with each other telepathically, where Dunamess' characters are cousins and the fact that my girls are swimmers. Once again, I am really sorry about this, but I started writing this before I read Dunamess' story. I am utterly amazed at the similarities and I'll read chapters of Dunamess' story before writing some of my own to keep them from appearing to similar. And once again, I am truly sorry about this and I really can't change these details because then I'd have to rewrite my story.

Prologue

Walking up the circular stone step way, Meckenzie let her mind wander to the conversation that had just happened.

_"We need you to find out what really happened. You have to find a way to get yourself among them. We've taken care of having you transferred; now you need to integrate yourself, make yourself one of them. Start with the girl."_

Meckenzie emerged from the stone pathway into a house that had been modernized. The dungeonous feeling of the subterranean meeting room always made her uncomfortable, but business was business. After leaving the house, Meckenzie strode over to the car and joined her best friend and half sister, Annalise, who was a little more than a year younger than she was.

"So, what'd they say?" Annalise asked her.

"We're going to Spencer Academy."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Meets & Greets

The two girls stepped out on opposite sides of the car. The sisters drew unwanted attention from other students. Meckenzie is a startling 5'9" with wondrous green eyes; slightly longer than shoulder length, dark brown hair; and curves any woman would die for. Annalise, on the other hand, looks more like the mother they share; about 5'6"; long blonde hair; and blue eyes the shade of Cozumel water in the summer. The two girls walked up the stone steps side-by-side and headed toward the provost's office. The looks from other students followed them as they made their way through the school.

Twenty minutes later the sisters were in their dorm room on the third floor, their bags and trunks had been for them while they were in the provost's office.

"Okay, so this school is kickin'! Have you ever seen so many cute guys in one place?" Annalise giggled from the bed she just made.

"Yeah, I have to admit, there are quit a few of those. Just remember, we're here for a reason." Meckenzie was putting her clothes in her dresser. She threw a sly smile at her sister, "…but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun while we're at it. Come on let's go find some fun!"

Meckenzie and Annalise changed out of the clothes they had worn on their trip and into jeans and t-shirts. Meckenzie walked out the door and right into a pretty blonde walking by.

"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Meckenzie stammered while Annalise giggled, knowing exactly what was going through her sister's mind.

"No, it's alright, really. I shouldn't walk this close to the doorways. I'm Sarah Wenham, by the way. You must be the new transfer students." Sarah said, offering her hand for the girls to shake.

"Yeah, I'm Meckenzie Danforth and this is my sister, Annalise Hudson." Each sister took her shaking Sarah's hand. Just then, another girl came up behind Sarah.

"Oh hey, Kate." Sarah motioned to the new girl. "Meckenzie, Annalise, this is my roommate, Kate Tunney. Kate, Meckenzie Danforth and Annalise Hudson. They're sisters and just transferred here."

"Oh, cool. Welcome to Spencer. We're headed down to Nicky's to meet the boys. You wanna come along?" Kate asked. Annalise stood up from where she was leaning against the wall.

"Sure, sounds like fun! We were just looking for some. Who are the boys?"

"Sarah's boyfriend, Caleb; my boyfriend, Pogue; and two of their friends, Tyler and Reid. The four of them have been friends since childhood, their families have been close for years."

Annalise looked at Meckenzie and raised an eyebrow. The sisters learned at an early age that they could telecommunicate with each other.

_The Sons of Ipswich._

_Oh, just our luck._

The four girls walked through the halls, out into the parking lot, and piled into Kate's car. As Kate pulled onto the road she glances into her rearview mirror.

"So, what brings you guys to Spence?" She asked.

"There was a death in the family and we decided to move. Some of the details of his death were unknown and the rest of the family has to figure it out." Annalise piped up from the back seat. Sarah twisted around in the passenger sear to look back at the sisters.

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry to hear."

"It's alright. It's been over a month since he died. My mother's taking it the worst though. It was our cousin; he was like a son to her after his mother died. She was our mother's only sister." Meckenzie told her. Kate pulled the car into the parking lot of Nicky's, making it a great way to end the horrible topic. Kate parked next to a silver convertible and the four girls piled out of the car and into the bar. Sarah and Kate found the boys by the foosball table and pulled Meckenzie and Annalise along after them.

"Hey, sweetie." Caleb planted a kiss on Sarah's cheek. "Who is this?" Sarah smiled at him.

"This is Meckenzie Danforth and Annalise Hudson. They're the new transfers." The four boys grinned at the sisters. "Meckenzie, Annalise, meet Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Tyler Sims, and Reid Garwin. Hey y'all scoot over and make some room." Sarah and Kate moved in next to Caleb and Pogue, Meckenzie and Annalise situated themselves between Tyler and Reid.

"So how long have you been in town?" Reid asked.

"We just got here. We were going out to do some looking around when I practically ran over Sarah in the hallway and she asked if we wanted to join you guys." Meckenzie looked over at Reid and saw the spark in his eyes and the smile on his lips.

_Oh, this one's going to be some fun._

_I'm kinda liking Tyler myself._

Caleb and Pogue got up to play foosball while Sarah and Kate went to check out the jukebox. Annalise and Tyler struck up a conversation, leaving Meckenzie and Reid on their own.

"So what floor are you guys on?" Reid asked her.

"Third, room 326."

"Hey, that's right next door from Sarah and Kate. Me and Tyler are down the hall."

"What about Pogue and Caleb?"

"Pogue is on a different floor and Caleb lives at home to help take care of his mother. She went even further downhill after his father died."

"When did he die?" Meckenzie asked, although she knew the answer before he even said it.

"A little over a month ago. He was in real bad shape." Just then "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" started to blare from the jukebox.

"I love this song! Reid, do you wanna dance?"

"I'm not entirely sure I can," he said with a smile.

"It's not hard, come on. It'll be fun." Meckenzie was trying to pull him out of his seat, but was having difficulty, because he was planting his booted foot on the floor. "Please, Reid, for me?"

"Oh, alright, fine," he told her as he hauled himself out of his chair. "But I warned you." Meckenzie, still having hold of his hand, walked to the clear part of the floor. She faced Reid, put his hands on her hips, and she put hers around his neck.

"It's easy. Just do what I do." She started moving her hips side-to-side. She turned around with her back to him and pulled his arms around her waist. She reached behind her started running her fingers through his hair at the base of his neck. "I just love your blonde hair." Reid smiled at her.

"Yeah, well, your green eyes excite me. They are the color of fresh green grass. Man that makes me sounds like such a dork." He said into the base of her neck.

"Nah, you're not a dork. You're cute," she said with a sly smile.

"If only you knew him, sweetheart. He really is a dork," said a voice from behind them. "Reid, don't try and make yourself seem cooler than you are." The two of them turned around and Reid stepped sideways trying to put himself between Meckenzie and Aaron. He looked like he could spit fire.

"Anything is better than you, Aaron," Reid said between clenched teeth.

"Well, let's see what your little girlfriend thinks." Aaron, surrounded by a group of guys, grabbed a hold of Meckenzie and pulled her close to him.

"Reid!" Meckenzie stammered out of surprise. She saw Reid's eyes flick black before instantly returning back to normal.

"Let her go, Aaron. She wants nothing to do with you."

"I don't think I want to let her go. I think I'll keep a hold of her for now." Meckenzie looked at Reid again and saw his eyes flick black once more as he started to advance on Aaron. She could feel that he was going to use his power. She knew she had to do something before Reid got himself into trouble.

"Aaron, let go of me," she said.

"Why?" he asked her, holding on tighter.

"Because that hurts!" she exclaimed as she brought her knee up to make firm contact with his groin.

"You little bitch!" he yelled while shoving her as hard as he could. Reid caught her before she hit the floor and wrapped her in his arms.

"If y'all don't knock it off you're all going to have to leave," Nick said from behind the bar. "I'm talking to you, Aaron." Aaron, with a hurt pride and aching genitals, grumbled as his friends pulled him out of the bar.

"You okay?" Reid asked Meckenzie as he was looking at her wrists. Dark purple bruises here starting to form where Aaron had grabbed her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Would you mind taking me back, though?"

"Yeah, sure. Lemme just go grab my jacket and tell the others." Reid headed back through the crowd.

_Annalise, Reid would be the first to use in the open. _

_Yeah, I felt someone using but couldn't tell who. It was really faint. What was going on?_

_I'll tell you about it later. Reid's taking me back._

_Okay, see you later, hot shot._

_Yeah, later._

"You ready to go?" Reid asked her as he slipped an arm around her waist.

"Yeah, let's go." When they got to the parking lot, Reid steered her towards a black 2002 Ford F150 pickup. "What's up with that Aaron guy anyway?"

"He's an ass that thinks he has to be part of everything. He probably just thought you were sexy and wanted you for himself. But I won't let him get near you." Meckenzie slid over on the bench seat of the pickup and sat close to Reid. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. Kissing her on the top of her head, he mumbled under his breath, "He will _never_ get near you."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Making Good Impressions

Meckenzie was lying on her bed reading an old, dusty book she had cleaned up. She set it aside when Annalise came in the door.

"Okay, Meck, what happened at Nicky's?"

"Well, Reid and I were dancing and this guy named Aaron showed up and started making trouble with Reid, then he grabbed me. It was Reid that was using. He didn't know I saw. Aaron wouldn't let go of me, so I kneed him in the groin."

"That must have hurt like no other."

"Yeah, I gave him a good one, too. He left me with bruises." Meckenzie showed Annalise the dark purple marks that surround both her wrists.

"Ooo, that looks bad."

"Yeah, Reid was gunna kill him **and** use in public on top of that. That was the only think I could think of to keep him from doing it."

"I think you and Reid are sweet on each other," Annalise said as she plopped down on her sister's bed.

"Yeah, so? What about you and Tyler, huh?"

"We're going into town for a movie Friday night!" The girls giggled for a few minutes before Annalise straightened up. "What were you reading?" Meckenzie's eyes flashed to black and the book that she was reading threw itself onto the middle of the bed and fell open. Her eyes returned to their startling green color. Annalise giggled at her sister. "The Lines of Ipswich. And when was that book written?"

"1894," Meckenzie told her with a grin.

"I don't even know why you're reading it again. You know everything in that book already."

"I know, I'm not really sure why I'm reading it. Something just tells me I should."

"Oh well. What happened with you and Reid after you guys left?"

"Annalise, you are nosy as hell! But if you must know we came back here and he showed me around." Meckenzie said with the smile of a thirteen year-old girl at the mall.

"Around where? And don't lie to me because you know we can both 'see'," she said looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Around the woods. We walked and talked."

"And…?"

"And what?" Meckenzie asked her prying sister with a shy smile.

"He kissed you. I felt it, then I had to see what else was going on."

"Oh! You're so perverted! I can't believe you did that!"

"Yeah, well, you'll get over it. I'm going to bed. Good-night."

Not wanting to get out of bed again Meckenzie used her power and snapped the door lock shut.

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The next morning when they got up, the sisters got dressed and started off towards their first classes. Annalise went one way and Meckenzie went another. It wasn't long before Mackenzie felt a hand on her shoulder. Semi-terrified to find out, she spun around to see who it was.

"Jesus, Reid! You scared the shit out of me," she sighed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to. Where are you headed?"

"American History, you?"

"Same here, I'll walk with you."

"Sure, thanks."

"Why are you so jumpy?"

"I know practically no one here, so I wasn't sure who would be coming up behind me."

"What? So I'm practically no one now?" he said with a stern face.

"That's not what I meant. I mean you…you're…" Meckenzie stammered over thoughts running in and out of her mind.

"I'm just joking with yea, babe." Reid said with a sheepish smile.

"Jerk," Meckenzie mumbled, Reid chuckled at her.

"Come on, it's this way." Reid pulled her into the classroom and she sat down next to him. There were still a few minutes until class started.

"So what are you doing after classes?" Meckenzie asked him.

"Actually, I have swim practice. Why? You wanna watch?" Reid asked with a cheesy grin.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you'd show me to the pool. Annalise and I swim, too. I'm not much to brag…but we took our team to state championship three years in a row."

"Well, well, you looking at getting back in the pool?"

"Yeah. So what if I am?"

"Well, I think it's great. It'd be fun to have you around the water."

"Cool. So any of the other guys swim?"

"Yeah, we all do. We do a lot of the same things."

"Sarah said you guys have been friends since childhood. She said your families have been close for years."

"Our families were actually some of the ones who founded the town of Ipswich."

"Interesting,. I didn't realize that."

"Not very many people in this area realize how old our families really are." By this time the rest of the class had filed in and found seats. Class was beginning.

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"Locker rooms are that way and Coach Hamm's office is right around the corner. And this is the pool." Reid pushed open the heavy door and Meckenzie followed him in.

"Holy shit, and I thought our pool was huge! This place is almost twice the size of ours' back home." Meckenzie was amazed and Reid chuckled at her.

"Garwin, when are you going to suit up?" asked a voice from the other side of the pool.

"Coach, got someone here you gotta meet," Reid called back to him, pushing Meckenzie in front of him. Coach Hamm circled the pool and stood in front of them.

"Meckenzie Danforth. I wondered when you would be in to see me," Coach Hamm said shaking her hand.

"You were?" she asked wearily, glancing at Reid. He just shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Yeah, Provost Higgins said you were a swimmer. Our old school sent some newspaper clippings with your file. Your sister was in my office earlier today. You're both welcome here anytime you want."

"Thank you. All I have is my old team suit. I don't think y'all go for red."

"There are some suits in the towel room, I order a couple extra every year, jus tin case. Garwin here can show you the way. He needs to be heading there himself."

"Sure thing, Coach."

Reid and Meckenzie headed back into the hall and straight to a closet like room with two each industrial sized washers and dryers, shelves of towels, and a stack of bathing suits still in wrappers. The door clicked shut behind them.

Reid stretched to reached for a suit and towels off of the top shelf. Meckenzie took in the sight in front of her, following the lines of his body with her eyes. She closed her eyes quickly before she reached out and touched him. She slowly opened her eyes again, trying to keep herself calm, and there he was. Staring her in the face, those beautiful blue eyes staring into hers.

Before she knew what she was doing, Meckenzie leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. There was an electric shock between them that she had never felt before and was pretty sure Reid hadn't either. She felt her eyes explode to black and clenched them shut, to attempt to maintain control.

"Wow," was all Meckenzie could manage.

"You like that? Well, lemme show you this." Reid held her close and kissed her again. This time it wasn't just a soft brushing, but something meant to make a point. Something that Meckenzie didn't want to let go of.

"Hey, hey, Reid! What's going on?" Pogue was standing in the now open doorway. Neither Meckenzie nor Reid noticed the door open. Meckenzie rested against his chest and Reid held onto her.

"Just getting' a towel, man. Don't let me interrupt anything. Two seconds and I'm outta the way," Pogue said with a laugh.

"Shut up, Pogue. We're just getting' a couple towels and a suit for her. Meckenzie's joining the team." Reid held onto her a little tighter.

"Yeah, that's what I heard. Coach started on about it as soon as we all walked into the pool. Apparently, Miss Thing here is something of a swimmer."

"Helped take home first place at championship swim meets three years in a row." Meckenzie gave Pogue a sheepish grin.

"Come on. It's time to start practice," Reid said while starting towards the door.

About 10 minutes later Meckenzie walked out of the girls' locker room in her suit and wrapped in a towel.

"Girls' freestyle up first." Coach Hamm called from the side of the pool. "Simpson, Bell, Johnson, Danforth! Line it up!"

Meckenzie and three other girls stepped up onto the platforms. Two whistles signaled them to set, Meckenzie waiting for the one to set her excitement free. She looked over at the coach, whistle at the ready. And there it was. Meckenzie launched herself off the platform and into the water. She could hear nothing but the water moving past her and her subconscious cues to breathe. Up one-way, back, up again. Meckenzie hit the edge of the pool on the last lap almost a full body length ahead of everyone else. Meckenzie felt two hands grab her wrists and Reid lifted her out of the pool in one pull. Coach Hamm looked back and forth between his stopwatch and the girl.

"Well, Miss Danforth. If I'm not mistaken that's a new school record." Hooping and hollering erupted and Meckenzie felt multiple hands pat her on the back. "Shower up, Danforth. That's enough out of you for one day. Girls' freestyle is dismissed."

Meckenzie was waiting for Reid when he came out of the locker room.

"I have to get together with Annalise, but I'll see you later, okay?" Meckenzie asked him.

"Yeah, sure. Here, lemme give you my cell number so you can call me whenever you want." Reid pulled his phone out of his pocket and Meckenzie grabbed her's out of the side of her bag. She flipped it open, snapped a quick picture of Reid with it, pushed a few buttons, and swapped phones with him. Meckenzie saved her number into Reid's phone and handed it back to him, and slipped her phone back in her bag.

"I'll see you later, Reid." Meckenzie held onto Reid's hand and gave him a soft kiss. Then, she turned to leave. He grabbed a hold of her, whipped her around, and pressed her tight against him. He landed a sensational kiss on her soft lips and let her go.

"I'll see yea later, Meckenzie." She turned and walked away trying to keep herself from stumbling, leaving Reid grinning and watching her leave.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Unknown Emotions

"Anna, I think I'm really starting to like this place." Meckenzie said setting down the framed picture of her and Reid on her bedside table.

"Meck, we've been here for like two weeks and I can already see that look in your eyes."

"What look?" Meckenzie asked startled.

"The kid with a new toy look. It kinda suits you. Usually, you're so serious and professional. Now you're cool and fun to have around."

"I don't know what it is. It's just being around here, the school, Sarah, Kate, the boys. It's just different than at home."

"Just remember, we have work to do before we get too close. The Elders want answers."

"You sound like me. Imagine, you taking charge and me giggling like a school girl!"

"Oh, don't worry, we've both be giggling like school girls lately. It's these boys, I tell yea."

"You know, I think it is the boys. I think it's the magical connection that we all share that makes us all so comfortable around each other, and then Sarah and Kate. I mean the eight of us are like all brothers and sisters. And I really like Reid."

"Yeah. Tyler's really sweet, not to mention incredibly hot. It's a shame the Elders sent us here for business. I just wish I knew how this all is going to end."

"I know what you mean. I used to try to see how it will turnout, but I couldn't make out how it happens. It was weird. All I saw was us casting a spell and then everything went cloudy. Like a wall of smoke was blocking my visions. That's never happened to me before."

"At least you got that far. I tried to see and all I could get was a dark gray fog. It was exactly like when I had just gotten the "sight". I could see faint shapes then nothing but gray fog." Annalise was studying her nails, using her powers to change the colors, trying to find one she liked.

"It's almost like…" Meckenzie stared off into space. Annalise looked at her puzzled.

"Like what?" Annalise asked worried.

"Nothing, never mind. Just go to bed." Meckenzie covered up with her quilt and picked up the "Lines of Ipswich" book from beside her picture. She flipped the book to the page she left off on and continued reading.

"I still don't know why you're reading that whack ass book. You've read it a hundred times. You already know what's in it," Annalise scoffed at her sister.

"I've told you before, I just feel like I'm missing something. Something I should know but I can't tell what it is." Meckenzie set the book on her chest and stared up at the ceiling. "Do you think we should tell the boys?"

"Tell 'em what, exactly?"

"You know what I'm talking about?"

"What? Tell them, 'Hey! We're cousins of the guy you made disappear and the Elders of **our** covenant want to know what really happened. So, here we are, magic and everything.' Yeah, that'll go over _real _well. Meck, what are you thinking?!" Annalise said excitedly. She threw a sideways glare at her sister. "Did you think about how much trouble that would cause?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It just doesn't feel right, though. Hiding our powers. Looking over my shoulder, making sure no one sees me using. It's driving me crazy."

"Go to sleep, Meckenzie. It'll turn out fine."

"I'm not so sure it will," Meckenzie said turning out her light.

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"Meckenzie, get your lazy ass out of bed!" Annalise yelled, pulling at her sisters blankets."

"Shut up, Anna. Leave me alone, I'm sleeping." Meckenzie rolled over, pulled the covers up over her head, and fell back to sleep.

"I'll have her ready in half an hour and we'll meet you guys down stairs." Annalise snapped her cell phone shut and turned back to her sleeping sister. "Meck, it's Saturday and we're going to town with Kate, Sarah, and the boys. You need to go take a shower and get dressed." Annalise grabbed her sister's shower bag and tossed it at her.

Meckenzie threw the blankets off and climbed out of bed. Grabbing her towel, shower bag, and some clothes, Meckenzie sleepily started off down the hall toward the showers. She was rubbing her face when she bumped into something solid.

"Whoa, pretty lady. You should watch where you're going," said the very solid person she had walked into.

"Not now, Aaron. I'm too tired for this. I have less than half an hour to meet my friends and you're just a waste of my time," Meckenzie told he impatiently.

"Waste of your time? The only waste of your time is Reid and those freaks you call friends. Now me, I could take care of you," he said smugly.

"You? Take care of me? Aaron, I can take care of myself, thank you."

"Yeah? Show me then."

Aaron pulled Meckenzie to him and pressed his lips firmly against hers. She ran her hands up his firm chest and around his neck. Filling her hands with his long, soft hair, Meckenzie pulled as hard as she could until he couldn't move without hurting himself.

"I'll tell you once and only once. You touch me again and I'll be forced to kick your good for nothing, sleazy ass." Meckenzie let go and pushed past him. Then, she stopped, turned around, and shot him a looks-could-kill glare. "Oh, and Aaron, I'd take Reid and those 'freak' friends of mine over you any day. So you better leave us the hell alone.

Meckenzie shoved open the bathroom door and walked in. She placed her towel, bag, and clothes on a bench next to one of the showers. She leaned against the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Meckenzie was staring straight into her own eyes when the whole mirror steamed over as it would from the steam from a hot running shower. Knowing that no one else was in the bathroom with her, Meckenzie knew what was going on. She saw two figures forming, one person sitting over the lying form of another. As the two figures became clearer, Meckenzie realized who they were.

The forms were herself and Reid. She was looking down on a seemingly peaceful form of Reid. The visual details becoming less fuzzy, Meckenzie could see he was bleeding from a cut above his left eye and she had tears rolling down her face. Not wanting to see anymore of this horrible vision, she wiped her hand across the steamy mirror once and it dried up and went back to normal on it's own. Meckenzie put her hands to her face and felt a couple of silent tears that were rolling down.

Not really aware of what she was doing, Meckenzie slammed her fist into the mirror above the sink. The fragile glass shattered in a spider web pattern where her fist made contact. Cursing at herself, she noticed the blood starting to run down her arm.

"Shit!" she said to herself. Her eyes flashed to black and the pain in her hand intensified as the skin and muscles started to heal themselves. She stared into the mirror at the black abysses that were her eyes. Starting with the center and direct point of contact, the mirror seemed to melt itself back together as the large cracks started to disappear.

"What was that? What did it mean? What caused it?" A whole lot of questions were running through her mind and Meckenzie didn't have an answer to even one of them. Not knowing what was going on made her start to cry even more.

"I've got to knock this off. Nothing is going to happen to anyone."

Meckenzie turned the shower on as hot as she knew she could stand. After stripping off her clothes, she stood under the water and felt its heat cocoon her in comfort. After washing her hair and quickly shaving her legs, she turned off the water. Getting out of the shower she towel herself off and started changing into her clean clothes. She wiggled into her jeans and then tucked her tank top into the top of her pants. Grabbing her shirt off of the bench, she pulled it on over her tank top.

She collected her things and headed back to her room. As she brushed out her wet hair, she sat down on the edge of her bed. The scene in the fog confused her and it pissed her off that she didn't know what it meant.

"Meckenzie, it's time to go," Annalise shouted from the hall.

"Just a second. I'm putting on some shoes." Meckenzie pulled her black boots out from under her bed and shoved her feet into them. Getting up and walking out the door, Meckenzie was becoming even more puzzled over her vision. It was starting to worry her, in a big way.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all for the input you've sent. It's all been really helpful. A few of you have voiced some concern:

Meckenzie being Mary Sue-ish – I did that for a reason. At home she had never had boyfriends or relationship with just about anybody but her sister. That'll play into the story soon.

Pogue living in the dorms – It completely slipped my mind when I started this and I remembered after a couple of chapters. I debated changing it but I figured it was already done so might as well leave it alone.

Reid seeming a little OC – I wasn't really thinking about that but I did want him to be different from himself. Sometime in the next few chapters he is going to go back to the way he really is. At the beginning I wanted him to not necessarily act like himself because I wanted him to be someone different when he's with Meckenzie.

Chapter Four  
Finding A New Strength

"Kenzie, are you okay?" Reid and Meckenzie were walking down the sidewalk a little ways behind the others.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." The sudden sound of his voice snapped her out of the trance-like state that she had found herself in.

"What's on your mind? You've been preoccupied since we left the school," Reid told her with a concerned tone.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. I swear." Meckenzie put a smile on her face that she knew should be there anyways, but Reid could still see the same concerned look in her eyes.

The group of friends went into the theater. When it was their turn, Reid and Meckenzie stepped up to the ticket window and Reid paid for their tickets.

"You want any popcorn or anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. That'll be great." Reid went to the concession counter and Meckenzie waited with Sarah and Kate.

"Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself today?" Sarah asked putting a hand on Meckenzie's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I'm sure it'll pass." She hadn't exactly lied but she couldn't tell them the whole truth.

"You know, you can come to us if you ever need someone to talk. We're always here to help you out," Kate told her.

"Thanks for the offer," Meckenzie replied with another forced smile. "Too bad you can't help me with this problem," she thought to herself.

"Hey girls, the movie's gonna start. We have to go," Caleb called from the other side of the theater. The three girls made their way over to the rest of the group, then they all went and found seats.

Reid noticed that Meckenzie wasn't actually watching the screen throughout the whole movie. It wasn't until after they were back at the school that he voiced his concern to anyone but Meckenzie. Caleb and Reid were walking down the hallway toward the basketball court.

"Meckenzie didn't seem like herself today. I'm kinda worried about her," Reid told him.

"Sarah said that she and Kate talked to her at the theater and Meckenzie told them that she hasn't been sleeping well lately. She's fine, it's probably nothing," Caleb assured him.

"You're probably right," Reid said, not so sure that Caleb _was_ right.

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The sisters were sitting in their room, Annalise doing homework and Meckenzie reading.

Annalise questioned her worriedly, "What's wrong with you lately. And don't tell me nothing because I'll know you're lying. You weren't into anything at all today, including Reid. Now what is wrong?"

"As a matter of fact, it's Reid. I'm worried something's going to happen to him." Annalise got up from the deck chair and sat beside her sister.

"Like what?"

"Well, I had a vision this morning when I went to take a shower. Reid was laying down and he was bleeding and bruised and I was just sitting there crying. I was sitting there, not doing anything but mumbling and crying."

"I'm sure there's nothing to it. Not all visions are true, that's the hardest part about having them. They don't' always come true and sometimes when they do they don't turn out the way they were originally seen. Why don't you go down to the pool and swim some laps. It'll take your mind off of things," Annalise said.

"I think I'll do that." Meckenzie shut her book and walked out of the room heading toward the pool.

"What is so interesting about this stupid book," Annalise said aloud to no one in particular. She picked up the "Lines of Ipswich" and opened it to the back of the book where Meckenzie hadn't gotten to yet. She let her eyes skim the pages of the book before she suddenly stopped. She reread a short passage on one of the pages three or four times, just to make sure what she thought she read was actually there. Annalise practically jumped off the bed and ran out of the room book in hand. She sprinted down numerous hallways with out stopping any longer than to open a door.

It only took her a little over two minutes to reach the pool. After bursting through the heavy door, she found her sister at the opposite end of the pool, swimming laps. Quickly making her way to the side of the pool, Annalise was trying not to slip on the wet tiles. She stopped at the lane her sister was in and waited for her to come back. Meckenzie looked up at her sister puzzled.

"I know why you felt that you had to read this book. It was trying to tell you something," Annalise told her sister breathless from her run.

"What was it trying to tell me?" Meckenzie hauled herself out of the pool and sat on the edge. Annalise pulled the book open again.

"It's in the chapter about family vendetta. This chapter has all sorts of reasons for wanting revenge on someone. It' says:

'The battle over power is a dangerous one, with the end result sometimes being a mystery. In the event of a battle ending in the unknown disappearance of one witch, those powers need somewhere to go. If that person doesn't rebuild themselves within two full moons their powers fall to the next person in the magical line. It is up to that person, whether or not they want to seek vengeance for the loss of the  
loved one. This usually happens if the person remaining from the battle is on the side of evil magic.'

Meckenzie, because of who Chase's parents were, that person is you! You inherit Chase's powers in…" Annalise runs through the calendar in her head. "You inherit his powers tomorrow night!"


	6. Chapter 5

- A/N: I'll say it from the start, I don't want to appear fishing for reviews but…please keep giving them. They help immensely since this is my first fanfic. They are all really appreciated and I try and incorporate all reviews into future chapters. I just want to say thanks to those who actually read this and comment on it. It really does help.

Chapter Five

Expected Visit

Annalise had been gone for 10 minutes and Meckenzie had continued swimming laps, hoping to have worked off the shock by now. Meckenzie was suspended in the middle of the pool, completely under water. Although she had read it herself several times before, she was still trying to absorb what her sister had told her.

"Why didn't I realize this before? I must have read that same paragraph five times," Meckenzie thought to herself. "First the vision, now this! Why does this all have to happen at once?" After some time another thought popped into her head.

"The Elders must have known about this!" Meckenzie got out of the pool and headed into the locker room. She quickly showered off the chlorine and changed back into her clothes. "Why didn't they tell me? I think I have the right to know."

Meckenzie meandered through the halls toward her room. She gave absent minded hellos and hand waves to other students and soon came upon her room. The door was standing open and Annalise was inside. Meckenzie went in and shut it behind her.

"Anna, I need you to cover for me. I'm going to see the Elders. I shouldn't be long."

"Yeah, sure. Just lemme know what happens."

Meckenzie hauled a large book from under her bed. She set it on top of the quilt and started flipping through the pages looking for the right spell. After a few minutes she found the one she was looking for, a traveling spell. Meckenzie stood up and faced the book. She looked around her; some time had passed while she was flipping through pages, Annalise had left without her noticing. She turned back to the book and began to read.

"A time for everything  
And everything its place.  
Take me where I want to go  
Through time and space."

The room swirled around her and then she closed her eyes to keep herself from getting sick. It was a few moments before she felt solid ground under her feet. She turned and saw an older woman coming towards her.

"Sofia, I need to see them," Meckenzie told the woman.

"They've been expecting you to come. You've figured it out." Sofia led Meckenzie down a hallway.

"Yeah. I figured it out. Were they ever going to tell me?"

"You'd have to ask them." Sofia opened a door. Meckenzie looked down the circular stone corridor that had given her the shivers so many times before. She descended onto the pathway. She was wondering how this would end. Meckenzie had never remembered it taking that long to reach the end of the pathway. She finally emerged into the circular room with two large doors on the other side. No sooner had she reached the bottom of the stairs that the doors swung open. Meckenzie marched in, the heels on her boots clicking against the stone floor.

"Meckenzie Danforth. We wondered when we'd be seeing you," said one of the eight people sitting across the room.

"Not to be rude, Master, but it would have been nice if you'd have told me about Chase's powers before you sent us after Caleb."

"We didn't think that it would have taken this long for you to find out what happened."

"You told us to make ourselves one of them. We have to build trust. That takes time. We'll get your work done. Don't worry." Meckenzie was becoming irritated.

"You better and do it inconspicuously. You have five days, and then we're sending someone else to clean up. We don't want you to have to face the consequences if you don't."

"That's not why I'm here. Why didn't you tell me about Chase?"

"We didn't think you needed to know. At least, not yet."

"Not yet! If not now, then when?! It happens tomorrow night."

"We were going to tell you when your work was done, but we thought you'd be done by now."

"Didn't you think I would notice? My powers have doubled since ascention and now I'm going to inherit Chase's on top of that?" Meckenzie was starting to wonder about the Elders.

"Not all of Chase's powers. Just those that were not destroyed when he disappeared."

"Once again, did you not think I would notice?"

"Yes, you would have noticed something was different, but we don't know exactly what. We've never had this happen to one of ours."

"Great, I'm an experiment now. What am I supposed to do?"

"You're going to have to ride with it. Figure it out as you go. You should be going back now. You've been gone to long." Knowing that she had found out all she was going to, Meckenzie knew he was right. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Everything's time  
And everything's place.  
Take me back  
Through time and space."

The room whirled around her and before long her feet his solid floor once again. Meckenzie looked around and found herself back in her room. This time Annalise was at her desk. She turned around and looked at Meckenzie.

"What'd they say?"

"They weren't going to tell me because they didn't know what would happen." Meckenzie put the book back under the bed and sat down cross-legged. "They said that it's never happened to one of theirs before."

"That's shitty. They could at least have warned you," Annalise huffed.

Well, they didn't. They told us not to forget that we have work to do and that unless it's done inconspicuously, there'll be consequences."

"What do you think will happen?"

"There's no telling what they'll do. Our family is secret. No one else knows about it. Other covenants are known to each other, but not ours. We've always been secret." Meckenzie turned grim.

"Do you think they'd harm out friends?"

"Yeah, I think they would. I think they'd do anything to protect their secret. And that includes us."

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Reid formed a blue energy ball between his hands. In a matter of seconds he had forced it across the room and toward a man in black. The unknown man expertly dodged out of the way of the possibly fatal blow and rebounded with one of his own. Meckenzie entered the room just as the return blow barely missed Reid by inches.

"Reid!" Meckenzie called out in panic.

Reid turned at the sound of his name and while he wasn't watching a blue energy ball nailed him full force in the chest. The energy from the blow sent Reid flying backwards into a wall knocking the shelves down onto him, burying him in junk. Meckenzie screamed. She looked over in the direction of the blow and saw the man who threw it. He looked vaguely familiar. Then he just disappeared. She hurried over to Reid and started throwing the junk off of him. He was just laying there, bruised and bleeding over his left eye. She held onto his hand and started crying and then she started talking under her breath.

"_Save him." _

Meckenzie looked around to see where the voice had come from but no one was there.

Meckenzie shot up into a seated position. She was in bed and covered with her quilt, soaked in a cold sweat. She looked over and saw her sister sleeping peacefully in her own bed. Knowing she wouldn't be going back to sleep for a while, Meckenzie got up, grabbed her things and went to take a shower. She started the water and let it run to get hot. Meckenzie stripped off her clothes and stepped under the water. She let the hot water beat down on her and relax her muscles. After the water started to run cold, Meckenzie got out and wrapped a towel around herself.

She walked out of the shower area and stood by the sinks, the mirrors were steamed over. She looked up to wipe the mirror and there it was. The words "save him" written in the steam. She blinked and it was gone, Meckenzie quickly changed and went back to her room. She climbed back into her bed and fell into a restless sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six  
Gaining New Power

Meckenzie was lying in her bed dreading the day to come. Her worrying about the accumulation of new powers had pushed her vision about Reid to the back of her mind, but after last night both troubles were running a close race in her mind.

"What am I going to do? I have no clue what this is supposed to happen of what's gonna happen!" Meckenzie thought to herself. "Then there's Reid. What's up with that vision? What does _that_ mean?" There was a knock on the door.

"Come on in. It's open," Meckenzie called from under the blankets. She heard the door open and then click shut again. She was expecting Annalise to start blabbing but what she didn't expect was a human mass to suddenly be sitting on her.

"Ugh! Good Lord, fat butt. Eat much?" Meckenzie giggled.

"What are you still doing in bed?" Reid asked as he pulled the blanket down off her face. He rolled off and sat down next to her. "We're supposed to be going into town."

"Uhm…" Meckenzie had to think of something quick. "I don't feel good. I think I'm gonna stay in bed today."

"You want us to being you anything back?" Reid asked her.

"Nah. I'll be fine. Y'all go."

"Alright, I'll see you later." Reid got up and walked to the door. "Bye."

"Bye." After Reid shut the door Meckenzie groaned.

"Great, now I get to lie on top of all this," Meckenzie thought to herself. She rolled over and went back to sleep.

_Meckenzie, you're not sick. Now why aren't you coming?_

_Annalise, it's not like I could tell Reid the truth. I don't know when this is going to start._

_You don't even know if it's even noticeable. You could have come._

_You don't know that it isn't. I have a feeling. Y'all just go._

_Okay, see you later._

Meckenzie hauled out of bed and went to the little dorm-sized fridge that her and Annalise kept hidden. Grabbing some peanut butter and jelly out of the fridge and some bread out of a box, she made herself a sandwich. After eating her sandwich, Meckenzie started a DVD on the TV and crawled back into bed. Three movies later, Meckenzie was tired of watching them and clicked off the TV. She rolled over and pulled the covers up to her chin, hoping to get some more sleep. It was half an hour before Meckenzie finally fell asleep.

Meckenzie looked around and found herself in the same room where Reid and the unknown man fought. She was kneeling next to him, his hand in hers. She closed her eyes trying to keep the tears from rolling down her face. She felt the gentle touch of a hand against her check and she opened her eyes. Reid was looking right at her. The two of them stood up and she was about to say something when Reid's form disappeared into smoke. She looked around and stared at the spot on the floor where Reid had been standing, shelves knocked down and junk lying everywhere but no Reid.

"He was right here. Where is he?" she asked a loud but to no one, except herself. She walked around the room. Everything was the same as before but she was the only one here.

"Save him," said the same familiar voice from before. Meckenzie looked around to find where the voice came from, no one was there.

"Who are you?" Meckenzie was still looking for the source. "What do you want?"

"You have to save him and the others."

"How and from what?" Meckenzie was still puzzled.

"You have to figure that out on your own."

"I still don't know who you are," Meckenzie said, the familiarity of the voice was driving her crazy.

"Meckenzie, darling." The voice was coming fro the open doorway. Meckenzie spun around.

"Mommy!" Meckenzie started to cry.

"Yes, honey. Come here." Meckenzie went to her and her mom enveloped her in a hug.

"Mom, where'd you go? After dad's funeral we went for training and then school. They wouldn't let us see you. We missed you so much."

"I know, but I've been watching over you. You and Annalise haven't done anything that I haven't seen and know about. But that's not why we're here. I came to tell you that you have to save your friends."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Save them how and from what?"

"I can't tell you that, honey. The one thing I can tell you is that the only way to do that is by doing something you don't want to. It'll be one of the hardest things you'll have to do to accomplish your mission. It has to be you and you alone."

"Is this the only way?"

"Yes. Now close your eyes. Concentrate."

Meckenzie opened her eyes and she was back in the Elders stone meeting room.

"Meckenzie, we are sending you to Massachusetts."

"Is this part of the deal?"

"Yes. You and your sister are going to Spencer Academy. That's the last place that your cousin was seen."

"What was he doing there?" Meckenzie asked.

"That's why we're sending you two."

"Okay. What do you want us to do?"

"We need you to find out what really happened. You have to find a way to get yourself among them. We've taken care of having you transferred; now you need to integrate yourself, make yourself one of them. Start with the girl."

Everything went black and then there she was. Meckenzie was in the courtyard at school. Then she saw him, he was right there, so close but so far away.

"Reid."

Before she could do or say anything else a sharp pain started in her stomach. The pain spread through out her whole body. It was so intense that Meckenzie doubled over. It was like her body was being pulled apart in all different directions. She clenched her eyes shut and fell to the ground. When she could manage to open her eyes again, Meckenzie was back in her room. Now the sharp pain had become searing and made her skin hot, like she was on fire. Her body twitched and contorted. Then suddenly it stopped. Meckenzie lay on her bed, completely drained of any energy she had. She managed to crawl under her blankets and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

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"Meck, come on. Get up, we've got classes today." Annalise was nudging her sister, slowly pulling her out of her sleep.

Meckenzie swung herself out of bed and went down to the bathroom. She quickly showered and was leaning over the sink brushing her teeth when it hit her.

"It has to be you and you alone." She heard her mothers voice in her head.

"Alone," she said to her reflection. "Always alone." She rinsed the toothpaste out of her mouth and ran her toothbrush under the water

By the time she had gotten back to her room it was time to start off for class. She grabbed her backpack and made her way to American History. The halls were packed like usual and Meckenzie had to fight her way to the classroom. She purposely found a seat between two people and waited for class to start. All the way through the lecture, Meckenzie found herself staring off into space. It wasn't until the person sitting next to her accidentally bumped her while collecting their things, did she realize class was over. Meckenzie picked up her backpack and headed for the hall.

"Hey, you feeling better?" Reid asked coming up behind her.

"Actually, Reid, no I'm not." She grabbed his hand and walked him to the side of the hall. "Reid, I don't think we should see each other anymore."

"What? Why?" This was the last thing he expected her to say.

"I just don't think it's a good idea. I hope one day I can tell you." Before Reid could say anything else, she walked away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked under his breath as she walked away.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven  
First and Last Notice

Meckenzie went through the rest of the week in a daze and on autopilot. During her classes she was trying to avoid the questioning gazes coming from her friends. She knew why she told Reid what she did, but she wasn't completely sure it was the right thing. At 3:00 on Friday, Meckenzie returned to her room after her last class. She emptied her backpack on her bed and went to work on her homework. An hour and a half later there was a knock on the door. Meckenzie got up, flipped the lock to the door, and opened it to find Sarah on the other side.

"Can I come in?" Sarah asked her.

"Sure." Meckenzie stepped aside to let her gain entrance, and then she closed the door behind her.

"Caleb said you broke it off with Reid."

"Yeah, I did," Meckenzie said, trying to hide the pain in her voice.

"Are you okay? You wanna talk about it?" Sarah sat down in the chair to Annalise's desk.

"I can't talk about it right now. Thanks for asking though."

"Well, we're going down to Nicky's. You wanna come? It'll be good to get out of here."

"Yeah, I'll go," Meckenzie said with enthusiasm. She actually was happy to be among her friends again, taking time away from thinking about her troubles.

"I told everyone else to go ahead and I'd be along, so it's just you and me."

"Okay." Most of the ride over Meckenzie was pretty quiet. She could tell Sarah wanted to talk about something but she wasn't sure what it was. "Is something on your mind, Sarah?"

"Actually, yeah I have been wondering something. You and your sister have different last names, so how are you related?" Meckenzie chuckled, she was expecting a little more than that.

"My parents were never married. Mom and Dad split up because she realized she was in love with another man. When Mom found out she was pregnant she told my dad and they eventually agreed to let mom keep me as long as I kept dad's last name. Mom and Annalise's dad got married before I was born. Now let me tell you that caused some problems. A woman marrying one man while being pregnant with another man's child. Shortly after I was born, Mom got pregnant with Annalise."

"Wow, that's a pretty long story."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." The girls laughed out loud. Meckenzie felt much better laughing after being so glum the whole week.

"Alright. We're here."

The girls got out of the car and walked into Nicky's and went straight towards the back. Caleb and Pogue were playing foosball and Kate was sitting at the table watching, looking so unenthused about being there until she saw the other two girls coming at her. Sarah and Meckenzie sat down and Meckenzie looked around.

"Where's Anna and Tyler?" she asked Kate.

"They went to see a movie. They'll be coming when it's over."

"Oh, ok. I'm gonna get something to drink, you guys want anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks anyways," Kate said.

"You want something, Sarah?"

"Yeah, I'll have a Pepsi."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Meckenzie walked up and smiled at the big guy behind the bar. "Hey, Nick. I need a Pepsi and a Root Beer."

"Sure thing. Haven't seen you in here in awhile," Nick told her as he turned to get her order.

"Yeah, I know. I've been busy lately."

"Okay, well here you go." Nick turned back to her with two glasses of pop.

"How much do I owe you?" Meckenzie asked digging a wad of bills out of her pocket.

"Nothing, the guy at the end of the bar said he'd pay for anything you ordered." Meckenzie looked down expecting to find Reid but instead it was Aaron. She handed Nick a $5 bill.

"Keep the change." Meckenzie took the glasses and headed back to the table.

"Thanks, Meck," Sarah said. Meckenzie sat down beside her. "Did you guys believe that test we had in American History?"

"I didn't study at all," grumbled Meckenzie. "I know I did horrible."

"I studied and still didn't do well," Kate told the group.

"Does anyone know when the Lit. exam is?" Meckenzie asked.

"It's next Thursday," said Aaron from behind them. "Meckenzie can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure." Meckenzie shot a confused look at Sarah and Kate as she got up to follow him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot," he said with a smug grin.

"First of all, your not sorry. I can see that in your eyes. You'd love more than anything to shove it in Reid's face that I broke up with him and then went straight to you. I refuse to be part of your game to manipulate and make other people feel small. Secondly, I wouldn't g out with you anyways. I'd rather be alone and without Reid than to be in hell with you." Meckenzie gave him the death glare and turned to leave.

"Why not? Reid is well over you." This stopped her in her dead tracks. "Just look for yourself." Meckenzie turned around and looked towards the pool table. Sure enough, there he was and he wasn't alone. All Meckenzie could see was his back but he appeared to be flirting with the girl and having a good time at it, too. It pained her to see the smile on the other girl's face that she knew should be on hers.

"You're an asshole, Aaron," Meckenzie said before she picked a drink up off the bar and dumped it on his head. She pulled another $5 bill out of her pocket and set it down on the bar.

"Hey, you go, Nick. I'm buying this guy another drink."

She shoved past the now drink soaked Aaron and went outside. Meckenzie sat down on the curb. She was upset about Reid but not as much as how pissed off she was at Aaron. The more she thought about it the more angry she got. Just thinking about how manipulative Aaron was filled Meckenzie with rage. She got up and walked in to the alleyway.

"AUGH!" Meckenzie let out a loud scream and her eyes burst to black. She punched the side of the building trying to let out some aggression. When she moved her hand, the outer cement wall was cracked and pieces of cement crumbled to the ground. She was astounded at the strength that she had never had before. She picked up one particularly large chunk of cement and crushed it in her hand, gazing at the dust that was left.

"Meckenzie, are you okay?" The sound of Kate's voice brought Meckenzie's eyes back to their original color. She turned around to face her friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Meckenzie lied.

"What happened with Aaron? I saw you push past him and out the front door. Sarah and I couldn't help but laugh at him. You did something we all wish we could."

"He was just being a jerk, like always. Trying to mess with people. By the way, I've been waiting to do that."

"Well, if you want to go back to the school, Sarah said you could take her car. She'll catch a ride back with Caleb, before he goes home." Kate handed Meckenzie the keys.

"Tell Sarah I said thanks and I'll put her keys in you guys' room." Meckenzie pocketed the keys.

"I will. See you later, Meck."

Kate went back inside and Meckenzie decided to go for a walk. She walked around the block and was about to round the corner to the front of Nicky's when she saw Reid and the girl come out the front door. She stopped on the side of the building trying to avoid being seen. She made sure that she heard Reid and the girl get in his truck and drive away before she went and slid behind the wheel of Sarah's car. Meckenzie wanted to cry but instead she stuck the key in the ignition and turned the engine over. Pulling out of the parking lot, Meckenzie started back to the school.

"Reid is well over you."

Meckenzie kept replaying Aaron's words over and over again in her mind. She wanted nothing more than to smack his and that other girl's heads together.

It wasn't long before she was parked in the lot in front of the dorms. Meckenzie turned the car off and made her way to the third floor dorms. She had her hand on the doorknob to her room when she remembered Sarah's keys. She put the key in the lock and the door clicked open. Meckenzie quickly set the keys on a bedside table, feeling slightly uncomfortable being in the other girls' without them, before returning to her room. She took a tank top and shorts out of her dresser and threw them on the edge of the bed. She stripped her clothes off, threw them in the corner, and put on the top and shorts. Meckenzie climbed into bed and tried to forget about Reid, which would be more difficult than she thought. With much difficulty, she finally fell asleep.

Meckenzie opened her eyes and once again could see the room Reid was in. She could see everything but wasn't actually there. For her it was like watching a movie, she could see everything but couldn't be a part of it. She watched as Reid threw the ball at the man and the man dodge it. She saw the man throw one back and it miss him. She was waiting to see herself walk through the door, but she never came. She watched Reid being thrown backwards and hit the wall. Still she never came.

Suddenly, Meckenzie was surrounded by all her friends and other students. She was standing in a sea of black and tears, in front of her was a dark mahogany casket. On top was Reid's school picture. Meckenzie started to panic, suddenly feeling out of breath; she burst into tears and fell to the ground. She felt arms around her. She looked up to find her mother's face looking down at her. She wasn't smiling. Looking around Meckenzie found that they were alone, standing next to the grave.

"It'll end up this way, Meckenzie, if you don't fix it. This isn't what I meant, think about it. I have to go now. I'm always near if you girls need me, you just need to call. Help your sister, she needs strength like yours if your going to succeed."

"Meckenzie, wake up. Meckenzie." Annalise had a hold of her sister's shoulders. Meckenzie's eyes opened. "Meck, what's wrong? You were crying." Meckenzie looked up at her sister and started crying again.

"I don't know, Anna. I just don't know anymore."

"You have to tell me what's been going on."

"Okay, you remember that vision I told you I had?"

"Yeah, what about it?'

"Well, it's been showing up in my dreams, each time it's slightly different though."

"We don't have visions through dreams."

"I know that, but I've seen seeing it. The first dream was sort of like the vision only it showed what happened before. Reid was hit by an energy ball, that's how he ended up on the floor and there was a voice, a woman's voice. She said, 'Save him' but there was no one there.

In the second dream, I was kneeling by him like in the vision. I was holding his hand and crying, when he touched my face. We stood up and he just disappeared. Then the voice was back and it was Mom. Mom said that she's been watching us the whole time. She also said that I had to save him and the others but she couldn't tell me how. She said that I'd have to do something I don't want to do, that it would be hard and that I have to do it alone.

There was a third dream, just now, when you woke me up. It was just like the second only I never came in. He ended up dying. I could see everything but it was like I wasn't there, I couldn't do anything to help. I watched him die and then we were at his funeral, all of us. Then I started crying, Mom was there and we were alone just the two of us at the gravesite. She said that it'd end up this way if I didn't fix it and that it's not what she meant. She said she'd always be there if we needed her that we just had to call. She said that I'd need to help you, that you need strength like mine." Meckenzie tried to hold tears back but she just couldn't manage.

"So what do you think she was talking about when she said it wasn't what she meant?" Annalise asked her sitting in the edge of her sister's bed.

"She couldn't have meant for him to get hurt. In the second dream she said I had to do it alone, I thought I knew what she was talking about. That's why I told Reid that we shouldn't see each other anymore."

"Okay, so you broke up with Reid after Mom told you that you'd have to do this alone?"

"Yes, I thought she meant he'd get hurt if I was still there. I thought it was because I had distracted him."

"But, then you had the dream again. And in the last one he died. So that's obviously not what she was talking about. There's gotta be something we're not getting."

"Mom said I'd have to do it alone. But I don't understand, I need you and she would have known that. So technically, I'm not alone. The only way to know what she meant would be to ask her." Meckenzie said.

"She said all we'd have to do is call."

"But how? We don't know where she is."

"There's got to be something in the book," Annalise said, getting off the bed and laying on the floor. She pulled out a book from under the bed, the book that Meckenzie used to see the Elders, and set it next to her sister. Kneeling by the bed, Annalise started flipping through the pages. After about five minutes of flipping, Meckenzie saw it.

"Look! It says 'To Call A Witch.' That's gotta be what so meant by call." The sisters stood up and held hands. Looking at the page, they read.

"Power of the witch's rise  
Course unseen across the skies  
Come to us, we call you near  
Come to us and settle here.  
Blood to blood, we summon thee  
Blood to blood, return to we"

The room filled with smoke and when it cleared, there stood their mother, Zoe.

"Girls, I don't have much time but I'll tell you what I can."

"Why could I keep seeing the vision, we don't have vision through dreams? And they were always just a little different." Meckenzie said.

"I was watching when you saw the vision in the bathroom. I knew you needed some help so I kept projecting a vision into you dreams. Your vision was real and so were the projections, so I couldn't change them just pass them along. Your actions changed the outcome of the event."

"What did you mean by Meck having to do it alone?" Anna asked. "You knew I'd be right there with her."

"She has to do it without the help of anybody else but you."

"Reid." Meckenzie said.

"Yes, Reid. He, nor the others, will be able to help; it has to be you two. The Elders brought you two in, so it was to be you."

"But they'll try and be there anyways," Annalise said.

"They can't. _You_ have to make it so they can't," Zoe said to her children.

"Why couldn't you tell us sooner?" Meckenzie asked her mother.

"I couldn't go to you, the Elders would have known. You had to come to me. I projected into you dreams because then they couldn't see it. It's learning, I couldn't offer help; you had to ask for it. I have to go now. I love you two." A ball of light appeared and she was gone. Both girls looked at where their mother stood. Annalise noticed it first.

"Meck, was that envelope there before?" she asked.

"No, it wasn't." Meckenzie picked it up and took the paper out. After unfolding the paper, she read aloud.

"You girls got too close and that clouded your vision. Your love for these boys caused you to fail your task. You got in too deep and forgot the deal. We believe that the responsibility was too much for witches your age. We've sent someone to clean it up."

The two girls just looked at each other.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight  
Telling The Truth

Meckenzie was pounding on Sarah and Kate's door. Sarah, barely awake, opened the door.

"Where are Reid and Tyler, I tried calling but no one answered?" Meckenzie asked.

"They're all at Caleb's, why?" Sarah asked rubbing her face.

"They may be in danger. We need you to take us there," Annalise told her.

"Yeah, sure. Lemme grab my keys." Sarah ran back into the room and got Kate and her keys. "Let's go," she said fully awake now.

The girls ran out of the building and got in Sarah's car. Sarah angled out of the lot and sped off in the direction of Caleb's house.

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"We couldn't tell you before but you're involved now, too. We'll tell you the short version and explain the rest later," Meckenzie said. "We've got pretty much the same powers that the boys do. We also have some that they don't have and some of ours are different."

"Why didn't you tell them?" Sarah asked.

"Well, before now we couldn't. No one was supposed to know who we are. The boys' covenant isn't the only one around, there are many more. Some more open than other, but all known to each other, except ours. Ours was secret, has been for at least two centuries," Annalise told them. "Our covenant sent us here."

"We'll explain why later," Meckenzie said before either girl could ask. They had just got to Caleb's driveway when Meckenzie saw a man in black among the boys' cars. "Cut the lights and stop here," she said. Sarah turned the car off and all four girls got out. "Stay low," Meckenzie said.

When they got close, they saw that the man that was standing in the cars was now standing by the house. Annalise snuck closer and crouched behind the closest vehicle, Reid's pickup. She formed a blue energy ball between her hands, stood quickly, and threw it at him. Catching the man off guard, he yelled as the ball threw him backwards and into a tree, knocking him out. The sound of the man yelling brought Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler around the side of the house.

"What happened? Who is that?" Caleb asked upon seeing the guys knocked out and the girls standing by.

"We'll explain later. Where's Reid?" Annalise asked.

"He's in the house," Tyler said confused.

"Where?" Meckenzie asked panicked.

"In the back room," Pogue told her, just about as confused as Tyler.

Meckenzie took off up the front steps of the enormous house and shoved open the large front doors. She ran through hallways and around corners listening. Then she heard to unmistakable sound of a small explosion. She ran straight toward the sounds. Then she found the right room. It was just like she had seen it many times before, Reid and the man in black. Reid formed the energy ball and threw it at the man and the man dodged it. The man formed one of his own and threw it. Like before, it missed Reid only by inches.

"Reid!" she yelled. When he looked at her she realized with dreadfulness that her vision was coming true. Thinking quickly she threw an energy ball at the one aimed at Reid, blowing it up right before it hit him. She could feel the heat of another energy ball forming on her palms, these ones bigger and darker than ever before. The balls were almost purple. She threw them at the man simultaneously with as much force as she could. They hit him square in the chest and he disappeared. Reid looked at Meckenzie with surprise.

"I knew something was up with you but I didn't ever think it would be this," he said.

"Yeah, well this isn't the only thing," she said looking at the floor.

"You _can_ look at me you know." Meckenzie looked into his eyes and all she could see was that other girl from Nicky's.

"Somebody tell me what is going on," Caleb said from the doorway.

"I think we should all just sit down first," Meckenzie told him. Caleb retreated and walked down the hall with Meckenzie and Reid following. He turned into a large room where the others were alredy waiting. They all took seats on various couches and chairs. "Okay, spill it." Meckenzie took a deep breath.

"First off, Chase Collins is our cousin." Meckenzie wanted to get what she thought was the worst part over first.

"What?" Tyler asked standing up.

"In our covenant powers are passed from mother to daughter. Ours isn't just the first born either, it passes from mother to every daughter. Even though Chase wasn't a girl he got powers from both sides because his mother _and_ father were powerful," Annalise told them.

"Why didn't you tell us before who you were?" Reid asked.

"Because we couldn't," Meckenzie said facing him, "for two reasons. One, our covenant is secret. No one knows about us but us. Two, our Elders told us we couldn't be let known who we are and why we're here."

"Just why are you here?" Tyler piped up.

"You are," said Annalise. "Well, actually Caleb is."

"I think I know where this is going," Caleb huffed.

"After Chase disappointed our Elders wanted a vendetta. In old times it wasn't uncommon for families to seek revenge for the loss of a family member and let's put it this way, our covenant is very old fashioned. They wanted to send someone to kill you, but a deal was made because Chase wasn't quite normal. We were sent to find out what happened and you weren't supposed to know. The Elders felt we took too long in our task and that we got too close to you."

"And those guys were who they sent," said Sarah.

"Yes and I know they'll be back," Annalise told them.

"They'll come back until the job is done," Meckenzie said, "and since we helped you, they'll be after us, too."

"Pogue, you guys have to do something," Kate told him.

"That's just it. They can't do anything. It has to be us," Meckenzie said frustrated. She leaned down and put her head to her knees. She felt a warm hand on her back.

"There has to be something we can do," Reid said.

"No, there really isn't," Meckenzie assured him. "There is something Caleb can do, though."

"What? I'll do anything," Caleb said.

"You have to tell me exactly what happened. I need to know everything," Meckenzie said, getting up and facing the window.

Caleb sat down next to Sarah and prepared to tell the story.

He started from the beginning with him and Pogue breaking into the administration office and what happened at swim practice. He told her everything including the parts about Sarah and Kate with spiders and the battle ending with the destruction of Putnam barn. He also told her that they never found a body. It took Caleb a little over then minutes to tell the whole story. Meckenzie sat for a few minutes, taking in what she just heard before standing up.

"Anna, I need to see the Elders again. I could try and tell them the truth and see if they'll stop all this. I need you to stay here," Meckenzie said. Annalise got up and stood face to face with her sister.

"You know they won't care. You said yourself that they'd harm them and us if that's what it took," Annalise said in a hushed voice so the others couldn't hear.

"I know that, but I at least have to try. I can't just sit here and wait for them to come. I have to do something," Meckenzie said in equally hushed tones. "I need you to stay here."

"Fine, but what if they come again while your gone?" Annalise asked slightly worried.

"They won't, not tonight at least. I need to go now though."

"How will you get there?" Tyler asked her.

"Well, females in our family have a way of doing things you boys don't. You could if you tried but spells are used mostly by girls," Annalise told them.

"Spells?" Pogue said suspiciously. "Like on TV?"

"Yes, spells," Annalise rebutted. "Where do you think TV executives got it from? Magical families have been doing them forever."

"Okay," Pogue said, backing up and holding his hands up in defeat.

"Do you remember it?" Annalise asked her sister.

"No, but that doesn't mean I can't 'see' it," she said with a grin.


	10. Chapter 9

-A/N: I just wanted to say thanks again to those who review, it helps and is appreciated. Also, I just wanted to say that all reviews are welcome, both positives and negative. negative's better than nothing and they help with improvements. On another note, I intend on having a few more chapters ready in the next couple of days. I work for a telemarketing firm at night, so i have plenty of time to write while listening to phones right and being hung up on four hours a night, lol! i'm really hoping that readers are enjoying reading!

Chapter Nine  
The Start of A Plan

Meckenzie walked into another room, she stood in the middle, and closed her eyes. She was starting to think when she heard a voice in her ear.

"Be careful," Reid whispered.

She could still see him with that other girl when she started concentrated harder on the book. Within seconds she could see the book open to the traveling spell. She read the scripted letters over and over again in her mind before she felt the room spin. When she opened her eyes, she was in the house again.

"Meckenzie! What are you doing here?" It was Sofia coming up behind her. "I didn't think you'd be coming back."

"Yeah, well, I'm here. This will probably be the last time."

"I know all what's going on around here. I just can't stand it. You and I both know Chase was evil. Why can't they see it?"

"They just don't want to," Meckenzie told her.

"They're gathered down stairs and don't know you're here yet."

Meckenzie headed down the same hall as before with Sofia following. When she reached the door it wouldn't open. Her eyes flashed black and the door exploded off the hinges without her touching it.

"Now they know I'm here."

"I hope the would."

Meckenzie ran down the stone steps, the heels on her boots clicking and Sofia struggling to keep up. When they reached the bottom the large door was shut.

"They open it from the inside," Sofia told her. Meckenzie, eyes still black as night, formed an energy ball between her palms. This one was twice the size as normal and a deep royal purple. She threw it and it hit the door square on and the door pushed open.

"Not anymore," she said smugly as the two girls went inside.

"You have to stop this," Meckenzie said coming up on the Elders.

"Why should we?" the master asked her.

"It was self defense. Chase got greedy and wanted more. He attacked innocent people, people who couldn't begin to defend themselves against any kind of power. It's against covenant law, no one has ever done that."

"We don't believe that. You took too long and failed on top of that. You got in too deep with those boys and that clouded your judgment. How do we know you're just not covering for these boys?" the master questioned her.

"I've been with you since you took my sister and I away from our mother when we were 10. I've never deceived you. But chase's always been your prodigy child, even growing up he could do no wrong."

"That's enough out of you." The big man's voice boomed in the hallow room.

"No, that's not enough. You're just angry your golden boy screwed up. You knew what he was doing but wouldn't stop him. He was 'special'. He killed his own parents for Christ sake! He got greedy, addicted. He used too much, it consumed him and you just stood by and watched. You knew what he was capable of!" Meckenzie felt a little better inside.

"It's too late. Events are in motion. We couldn't do anything, even if we wanted to," the master told her.

Meckenzie and Sofia turned and left the room. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Sofia stopped.

"Meckenzie, they're going on Monday. I heard the Elders talking. They're sending their best."

"Sofia, you've always been a good friend. Thank you," Meckenzie told her as she hugged the woman.

"I just want to do what's right." Sofia held Meckenzie at arms length. "You know, it's a shame the boys have powers. Like you said a little bit ago. We don't attack those who can't defend themselves." Meckenzie was puzzled and then it hit her like a rock.

"Thank you so much, Sofia." She hugged the woman once more before letting go.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Meck. Stay safe."

"I sure will. You be careful around here."

"Go. Now," Sofia told her. Meckenzie stepped back and closed her eyes.

"Everything's time  
Everything's place  
Take me back  
Through time and space."

She found herself alone in the same room she left from. She slowly walked out of the room and into the hall. She stood staring down the hall. After she talked with Sofia, she finally realized what it was her mother was talking about. She made her way to the other room and everyone looked at her when she entered.

"It was no use. They wouldn't listen," Meckenzie told them.

"Did you find anything out?" Reid asked.

"Actually, I did. They're coming back Monday. So we're all safe for now."

"Monday? That's not a lot of time," Annalise said.

"I know, but it has to be enough," Meckenzie said grimly. "Caleb is it okay if we all stay here Sunday night? We'd have to skip classes Monday and I don't think it'd be a great idea to take this back to the dorms."

"Yeah, that's fine," he answered without hesitation.

"For now, I think we should all go back to the dorms," Pogue announced, "we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves right away and I think all of us being gone would do that."

"Yeah, that's probably best. Should we all meet up at Nicky's tomorrow night for a little fun before this all goes down?" Reid asked.

"That sounds okay. So we'll all meet at Nicky's at oh, 8:30?" Caleb asked. He got various yes's and okay's before the group dispensed to the vehicle.

"Meck, come on Tyler's gonna gave us a ride back," Annalise hollered over the top of the group. The three of them go into Tyler's Hummer and they started back to the school.

"So you guys are really Chase's cousins?" Tyler asked glancing at Annalise.

"Yeah, our mothers were sisters," she told him.

"So if your covenant's secret, how'd his parents find out about each other?"

"Our Elders thought that the joining and eventually conception of child from two magical people would mean good things for the covenant," Meckenzie said from the back seat.

"Oh, that's kind of interesting."

"Yeah, he was their prodigy child and could do no wrong," Annalise told him.

"But since he was special, they just looked the other way?" Tyler asked.

"Exactly, makes it really hard to like someone when they think they're better than you," Meckenzie said pulling her knees to her chest.

"Chase sis something horrible when they were 14 and Meckenzie got blamed for it. Chase didn't do anything but rub it in that she got in trouble and he didn't. When she tried to tell the Elders they wouldn't believe her," Annalise explained.

"That sucks," Tyler said.

"You have no clue," Meckenzie told him before leaning her forehead against the window. "If you ask me, in the end he didn't get nearly enough as what he deserved," she said, her breath fogging the glass. Meckenzie looked out the window, letting her mind wander. She could hear Tyler and Annalise's voices talking back and forth in the front seat and couldn't careless what they were actually saying.

She started thinking about Reid and the picture that now sat on her bedside table. Just thinking about his blue eyes made her smile but then she thought about that other girl and it put a painful twinge in her stomach. When the vehicle stopped Meckenzie realized that they were parked in front of the dorms.

Know it would take Annalise a few minutes to get away from Tyler; Meckenzie opened the door, hopped out of the vehicle, and closed it again. She trudged up to her room and opened the door. She changed out of her clothes and back into the makeshift pajamas she had on earlier. Meckenzie sat at the head of her bed with her knees pulled to her chest hugging a pillow. She waited like this until her sister came in. Ten minutes later she finally arrived. Annalise was rustling around in her dresser drawers and when she couldn't find anything she wanted, she just pulled off her jeans and crawled into bed.

"I figured out what mom was talking about," Meckenzie said in a quiet tone, breaking the silence. "Actually, it was Sofia who realized what was said and mentioned it." This got her sister's attention.

"What is it?" she asked, curious to see what Meckenzie came up with.

"Well, Mom said we had to make it so they couldn't help. Sofia mentioned that it's a shame the boys have powers because of the covenant's law and that's when I realized what it was. We have to bind their powers."

"Can we even do that? There's nothing in the book about binding powers," Annalise said nervously.

"That's because it's unethical," Meckenzie told her grimly.

"Then why should we do it?"

"It's the only thing we can do. Sometimes what's ethical and what's right are two different things. If we do it, then the people that are sent won't be able to attack them. So that'll leave just us."

"It'll leave them powerless. What if these guys decide they don't want to play by the rules and do go after the boys? What then?" Annalise asked worried.

"Well, I hate to have to say this, but that's just a risk we're going to have to take. If these guys really are the best, then they'll know to 'play by the rules.' Trust me, I don't want to have to do this."

"This is ridiculous! I can't believe we're going to do this," Annalise said excitedly.

"So, you're with me on this? I think it's the only way."

"Yeah, I'm with you on this, but **_you_** have to write the spell," Annalise said lying back down.

"Ok, if you would have said no, I wouldn't be able to do this," Meckenzie said relieved.

"Don't worry, I know. I just have one question. Are they going to be able to get their powers back?"

"I hope so," Meckenzie said lying down and staring at the ceiling.

°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸

The time was almost two before Meckenzie woke up; it had taken her almost two hours to fall asleep the night before. She rolled over and saw that her sister was gone. Getting out of bed, she grabbed a pair of exercise pants and running shoes and pulled them both on. As a last thought before walking out the door, she grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. When she reached the courtyard, Meckenzie did some stretches to warm up her muscle, and then set off on a slow jog.

Meckenzie could hear nothing but the rhythmic pounding of her feet on the pavement and the only thing she thought about was regulating her breathing. She was used to running like this for years but hadn't been for a while now. Her muscles were starting to ache from the sudden use, but she kept pushing herself to go further and longer.

Meckenzie came upon a walker's path that lead into the woods around the school. Wanting a change of scene, she decided to take the path. Jogging this path was different from what Meckenzie was used too. She had to watch her feet and the holes in the path. She jogged for twenty minutes through the woods before coming to a very small clearing. The clearing wasn't much more than 10 feet wide and 15 across. She laid down in the middle of the grass and let her body soak up the sun. While lying there, Meckenzie started thinking about what the next couple of days would bring.

She wasn't entirely sure that she could strip the boys of their powers. It would leave them vulnerable and open to just about anything. She knew she had too, though. It was the only way to save them. She had never been this unsure about anything and yet she still knew what she had to do. The not being sure of herself was driving her crazy. It made her angry and frustrated, not knowing what was going to happen. Her life had never been this indefinite. The frustration brought tears to her eyes. Instead of trying to hold them back, Meckenzie let the salty liquid roll in streams down her face. When she was sure that the tears had stopped, she got up and wiped her face with the front of her sweatshirt. Getting up she started jogging back down the path and out of the woods.

It was almost 3:30 by the time she up the stairs and back to her room. Quickly getting a towel and her shower bag, she headed straight for the shower. Peeling off her sweaty clothes, she stepped under the showerhead and turned the handle so the water ran hot down her back. Her tense muscles started to relax from the not water and steam. She washed her hair and body. When her skin turned bright red, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. Meckenzie headed back to her room, shower bag and nasty clothes in hand.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
Relationship Rekindled

Meckenzie was sitting at her desk scribbling furiously on a pad of paper. Not being happy with what was written, she tore the top sheet off, crumpled it up, and threw it at a pile with the rest. Her pile was already shin-high when Annalise came in.

"What on God's green earth are you doing?" Annalise asked surveying the mess.

"I'm working on that spell," Meckenzie said a little frustrated. "It's just not all coming. I have the first part but not the last."

"Meckie, just make it simple."

"I'm trying to word it so the boys can have their powers back. I already wrote that spell. That one was easy."

"Just sit and think about something else for a while. It'll come to you."

"I guess you're right." Meckenzie set her pencil down on the desk and flopped down on her bed. She rolled over to say something to her sister and was looking right at the picture of her and Reid. She wanted so much to put it in a drawer but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. It was like a train crash, she wanted to look away but couldn't keep from watching. His bright blue eyes, the way the sun made his blonde hair glow, the touch of his warm hands.

"Meckenzie, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Liar."

"Really, it's nothing."

"Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll look for myself." Annalise got up and went to her. Putting her hands on either side of her sister's head, her eyes sprang black. Meckenzie's thoughts and memories went flooding into Annalise's mind.

"Honey, that's horrible. Just forget him, he's a jerk."

"That's just it, he's really not. He's just being himself...Wait! I got it!" Meckenzie jumped off the bed and ran to her desk.

"Got what?"

"The spell." Meckenzie quickly scribbled the lines onto a piece of paper and handed it to her sister. "Read this." Annalise skimmed over the lines and looked up.

"I think this might just work."

"Well, now those are done, let's get ready to go to Nicky's," Meckenzie said excitedly.

It was exactly 8:30 when Meckenzie walked into Nicky's with Annalise and Tyler. She had wore a fitted baby blue t with a black mid-thigh length skirt, and boots that hit mid-calf; where Annalise opted for her favorite little tight jeans, a tank top, and her track-cleat style sneakers. Like always, Caleb and Pogue were at the foosball table and Reid was off unfairly cheating people at pool and flirting with girls. Kate and Sarah seemed a little happier when the other two girls arrived.

"You know, it gets kind of tiring watching the boys play all the time," Kate said.

"Anna, why don't you go play?" Meckenzie said.

"I haven't played in so long I don't think I'll do very well," she said.

"Bock, bock…bock, bock, bock!" Meckenzie was flapping her arms like a chicken would its wings.

"You're a witch," Annalise said snidely.

Meckenzie grinned. "I know I am." Annalise got up from the table and walked up to the boys.

"Mind if I cut in?" she asked. The boys looked at her.

"_You_ wanna play?" Pogue asked.

"Uh, yeah. That's kinda what I meant when I asked."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said getting kind of aggravated.

"Here you go," Caleb stepped aside and Annalise moved into his spot.

"I'll take it easy on you," Pogue said jokingly. He slipped the ball in the hole and it rolled into the middle of the table. Annalise spun her players before Pogue could even think and the little ball shot straight into the goal.

"No need. _I'll_ take it easy on _you_," she said satisfied.

"First to eight wins," Pogue said.

"You go it." Caleb, Tyler, and the girls gathered around to watch. Pogue and Annalise played, always being close in score, until they were tied at seven.

"You want to keep going?" she asked him

"I'm one goal away, why would I want to quit?"

"You wouldn't want to be beat by a girl, would you?"

"You beat me? Never."

"Fine." She dropped the ball on the table and spun the handle. The ball got within one row of the goal and Pogue stopped it, sending it flying back. Annalise rebounded the ball and it barley missed Pogue's players and went straight into the goal.

"I won!" she shouted.

"What? No! Rematch!"

"Sorry, Pogue. I don't think so!" She got hoops and giggles from the girls.

"Okay, that was way more entertaining!" Sarah said laughing.

"Yeah, it was actually fun," Annalise told them.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, you guys want anything while I'm gone?" Meckenzie asked.

"Nah, we're fine," Sarah told her.

Meckenzie went and used the restroom. On the way back to her friends she ran into Aaron.

"Hey, Meckenzie," he said. "Are you sure you don't want to go out sometime?"

"Jeez, Aaron. Do you ever take no for an answer?"

"Never." He pulled her closer to him. "Now, how about a kiss?"

"How about you get your sleazy hands off of me?" she asked him sarcastically.

"Or what?" He looked her right in her eyes.

"This." She pulled back and cold cocked him in the face. He stumbled backward, a little stunned.

"You're a feisty one," he told her as she walked away.

Meckenzie went back to the table to join her friends. "I left something in the car. I'll be right back." She headed to the front of the building and out the door.

"Is she okay?" Reid asked Annalise after approaching her. "I saw Aaron messing with her."

"What do you care?" Annalise said. "You don't care about anybody _but_ yourself!"

"What are you talking about, Annalise?" he asked her.

"You, you're always thinking about only yourself, never anyone else. Always having one girl or another hanging on you. Don't you think that hurts her to see that?" she asked defensively.

"Hey, she broke up with me. It's not like I asked her to."

"She did it to save your stupid ass, Stupid Ass!"

"What?" He wasn't sure what to think.

"Basically," Annalise lowered her voice, "she had a vision and you gut hurt because she was there. She thought that maybe if you weren't together and she wasn't around, that it wouldn't happen that way. Well, after she broke up with you, she had the same vision again, only you died. So her leaving you wasn't the answer, she just never had a chance to say anything. She's been moping around for over a week because she keeps seeing you with these bimbos and it kills her."

"What?" he said again. Annalise smacked him upside the head.

"She likes you and it kills her to see you with other girls," Annalise said slowly so it would sink in.

"Why didn't she ever say anything?" he asked her.

"You'd have to ask her, but I'd say it has something to do with the fact that you paid her little attention if any at all, I mean never even to say hi."

"What's going on?' Meckenzie asked, coming in from outside and seeing her sister practically jumping down Reid's throat.

"Can I talk to you?" Reid asked her. "Outside."

"Sure." As Reid took her hand and started pulling her along, Meckenzie glared at her sister. Annalise just smiled at her sister, knowing her plan was working so far.

_Now who's the witch, Annalise?_

_Me!_

Reid, still having hold of Meckenzie's hand, walked over to his truck. He dropped the tailgate and motioned for her to sit. She hopped up and planted herself on the edge.

"Your sister told me about the visions."

"God, she's such a brat."

"Why didn't you just tell me to begin with?" Reid asked her.

"I don't know you seemed to be doing just fine without me." She was watching her feet swing over the edge of the tailgate.

"I didn't know what to think after that day in the hallway. I was stunned. I just did what I normally would have, moved on and forgot. But I never could. All I thought about was you," he told her.

"Then, why didn't you say anything?" Meckenzie stood up and started pacing back and forth in the truck bed. She wasn't thinking how unintelligent it was when she started her pacing, being so high off the ground. She was just concentrating on her ranting at Reid. She started talking fast, not even realizing she was doing it. "How was I supposed to talk to you when the only times I ever saw you, you were with some other girl? I mean I always saw you in the quad with that intellectually void bimbo. And then that night at Nicky's when I dumped the drink on Aaron's head. It was because he pointed you out with another girl. It wouldn't have hurt so badly if I'd have seen it on my own but for him of all people to show me. It made me feel so angry, so alone. I…" Meckenzie never noticed the strap hole on the edge of the tailgate. The heel of her boot caught in the hole and she went plummeting off the edge of the truck. Reid caught her before she hit the ground.

"Those girls never meant anything to me," he told her holding her close. "Not the way you do. Not even close." Reid set her on her feet. With the height of the heels on her boots, she was only a couple inches shorter than he was.

"The way I do? As in now?" she asked him.

"Yes, as in now. I knew there was something about you that first time you and your sister walked into Nicky's with Kate and Sarah. You make me different, better." He kissed her softly. She ran her fingers threw the soft hair at the base of his neck and pulled him closer.

"Reid, I need to know I'll be the only one," Meckenzie told him after pulling away.

"You'll be the only one for me," he whispered into her ear. She rested her head against his chest and used his body heat against the quickly chilling night air.

"I told you that they'd be out here…together," Annalise's voice came from behind them. She and Tyler had just come out of Nicky's. "We were just checking out where you guys went," Annalise told them. "Come on, it's getting cold out here!" Meckenzie and Reid went back inside with Annalise and Tyler.


	12. Chapter 11

– A/N: This chapter may be a little hard to read for some, I don't know how y'all will feel about it. Some readers may find it hard to read and others may be like, "Psh…I don't even know what she was ." I just want to warn though; it may be a little gruesome. Like I said before, I don't know how readers will feel but I had to show why Meckenzie disliked Chase so much. Well, keep reading! And happy times!

Ok, I did forget to mention this part in the last chapter, so I went back and added it. "She wasn't thinking how unintelligent it was when she started her pacing, being so high off the ground. She was just concentrating on her ranting at Reid." So, normal people wouldn't pace the back of a truck bed. Like Draco's Secret Lover pointed out, we would just jump down and pace on the ground. Sometimes, we just don't think and that even includes Mary Sue-ish characters.

Chapter Eleven  
Remembered In A Dream

Meckenzie woke briefly to the sound of snoring coming from near by.

"Tyler, you're snoring." Meckenzie picked up the extra pillow from behind her head and threw it at Annalise's bed. Tyler momentarily quit snoring and Meckenzie fell back asleep.

_"Chase, what are you doing?" a younger Meckenzie asked the back of a young teenage boy._

_"Come look, cousin." Meckenzie walked closer and was horrified at what she saw. Chase had a magical hold on his pet dog, Matty. The dog was floating about a foot off the ground. It looked like Matty was being pulled in different directions by invisible force fields. She could hear the dog whining and whimpering. She could see the dog's flesh starting to tear._

_"Chase! Stop it! You're hurting him!" Meckenzie yelled. _

"That's the point," Chase told her sinisterly.

When he wouldn't stop she did the only thing she could think of. She picked up a rather large stick and hit him over the head with it. The dog and Chase immediately collapsed to the ground. Meckenzie leaned over the dog to see if it was still breathing and luckily it was. She used all the power she had to try and heal the animal but it died within moments.

_Meckenzie could feel hands on her shoulders and she was being hauled up to her feet. It was the same hands, belonged to a man, that were pulling her towards the mansion on the top of the hill. The person shoved her up the large front steps and through the door. Meckenzie was herded through hallways and set on a bench in front of a door. The man who was with her went through the door and a girl just a couple years older than her sat down._

_"Meckenzie, I know it wasn't you. It's been Chase," she said._

_"Thank you, Sofia, but they won't think so. All they'll see is that Chase was lying there unconscious while I was using on Matty. They'll think I did them all." Meckenzie had silent tears running down her face._

_"But what if I tell them…"_

_"No," Meckenzie interrupted her. "They won't listen. Chase's is their prodigy child. They'll just think you've been helping. You have to go now."_

_"I love you, blood sister."_

_"I love you too, sister." The girls put their hands together touching palms, so they looked mirror imaged. Sofia had just left and was barely out of sight when the door opened again and the same man ushered her back through. The man followed her down the circular stone pathway and into a similarly circular room with two doors on the other side. The man walked to the doors and knocked twice. The doors slowly swung open. Meckenzie walked through the doors and after she was in, they swung shut behind her._

_"Meckenzie Zoe Danforth, explain yourself!" the man in the middle said._

_"Master, I didn't do it. It was Chase," Meckenzie said._

_"Chase! Chase wouldn't do it. Chase wouldn't kill 15 animals by torturing them with his powers. He's smarter than that. Besides, you attacked your cousin," the man told her._

_"I swear it wasn't me! It was Chase!" Meckenzie cried._

_"And now you're lying. Punishment is whipping, ten lashes," the man said. "Hopefully this will teach you a lesson that you won't forget."_

_"NO!" Meckenzie screamed as she was being pulled out of the room. She was lead up the stairs again and into another large room. She was sat down in a chair and everyone else left the room. Sofia snuck into the room through a side door. Meckenzie started crying at the sight of her best friend, second only to Annalise._

_"Meckie, I heard everything. I can't believe they're doing this to you. You should have let me talk to them," Sofia told her as she knelt by her._

_"No, because then you'd be in this with me," Meckenzie told her._

_"At least you wouldn't be alone."_

_"Where's Annalise?" Meckenzie asked._

_"She's still in town with her friends," Sofia assured her._

_"Good. You have to go, now."_

_"No, I'm gonna stay with you. I'm going to be here and holding her hands. And don't you tell me no because I'm staying."_

_"Sofia, I'm scared."_

_"I know, sweetie, I know." The older girl wrapped her in a hug._

_Just then a group of men entered the room soon followed by Chase, one man had a leather whip. Meckenzie was forced to kneel in the middle of the floor. A man took a blade and sliced the back of her shirt open, exposing her bare back. Another man tied her hands together in front of her. Sofia sat on the floor and took hold of her hands._

_"Here, bite down on this." Sofia pulled a heavy-duty cardboard tube out of her pocket. It was wrapped in colored string and was about six inches long. Sofia stuck the tube in Meckenzie's mouth and she bit down. "Now, just look at me. Keeping looking at me no matter what happens or how much it hurts." She took Meckenzie's hands in hers again._

_The man with the whip stepped up behind Meckenzie. With the first strike, Meckenzie started crying and the slices on her back formed welts and started bleeding. The second and third strikes of the three-tipped whip started to make her bare skin raw._

_"Meckenzie, keep looking at me. You have to look at me," Sofia told her. Meckenzie glanced at Chase and he smirked at her. She turned back to Sofia and locked eyes with her her, Sofia's tears started to match her own. After three more strikes, Meckenzie's back was covered in blood and raw flesh and she collapsed to the floor._

_"Stop this!" Sofia yelled. "Can't you see you're going to kill her?!"_

_"Ten lashings, that's what's gonna be served," the man with the whip said._

_"Then I'll take what's left," Sofia told him._

_"Sof, no. You can't," Meckenzie told her quietly._

_"Just shut up. I love you and I'm gonna do it," Sofia said sternly._

_"Fine by me," the whip man said. Sofia removed her shirt and kneeled next to Meckenzie, taking her hand once more. The girls held hands tightly, while the man gave Sofia the remaining four blows of Meckenzie's unmerited punishment. When he was finished, Sofia laid down next to Meckenzie. When she looked up, Sofia could see Chase smiling. She could have sworn she saw laughter in his eyes._

Meckenzie woke up with a start and her eyes full of tears. She looked over and saw Annalise and Tyler sleeping peacefully, wondering why she couldn't ever sleep like that. She could feel pain in the scars on her back. She missed not having Sofia around anymore and was feeling alone and confused. Sofia had always been the one she talked to if she couldn't talk to Annalise.

Not wanting to bother Annalise and Tyler, Meckenzie got out of bed and padded silently down the hall, arms wrapped around herself, wishing she had on more clothes than just her tank top and little bitty shorts. She stopped at room 315 and knocked firmly but not hard enough to wake anybody but the inhabitant. A shirtless, sleep driven Reid opened the door and immediately knew she had been crying.

"Get in here," Reid said pulling her inside and closing the door. "Are you okay? You've been crying."

"Yes…and no," she told him. Reid led her over to the bed and sat down against the wall with his pillows behind him. He pulled her down, pulled the covers up over them both, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Tell me what's going on," he told her.

"Well, I couldn't sleep."

"And why not?"

"For one, Tyler was snoring. I don't know how Anna can sleep like that."

"I just throw a pillow over his face. But Tyler's snoring doesn't even make _me_ cry, so what else is there bothering you?" he asked her.

"I keep having this dream. It's always the same dream. Ok, well it's not a dream, more of a memory." Meckenzie told Reid about Chase killing the animals using his powers, how she tried to save Matty and being caught using her powers. She told him about the wrongful beating her and Sofia took and Chase smiling while watching.

"That's horrible. And they wouldn't listen about Chase being the one killing animals?"

"Chase was their prodigy child, both father _and_ mother had powers. He was special; the sun rose and fell for him. And each time I have the dream, my scars start hurting."

"What scars? I've never seen any and everyone would have noticed them at swim practice," he told her surprised.

"Since I couldn't make them go away, I put a spell on them. Only those who know about them can see them. I got tired of other people talking and pointing, thinking it was abuse. I had to do something."

"But Kenzie, it was abuse, you didn't deserve that punishment."

"I've hated Chase since we were kids. That's why when the Elders found out about Chase and Caleb I offered to come. I've been following Chase's whereabouts since he left the manor. When Chase stayed here for more than a couple of weeks I had to know what interested him. I studied you and the others. I knew that Caleb wouldn't hurt unless he had too."

"That's actually kind of creepy," Reid told her.

"I know but I had to make sure Chase didn't hurt anyone. When I realized who Chase was after, I knew you guys could handle it."

"So when you got the opportunity to prove you were right about him, you tried to take it?"

"Yeah, but they still wouldn't listen."

"So how bad was it? The whipping?" he asked her quietly.

"It was really bad." Meckenzie pulled her tank top up over her head, leaving her sitting in front of Reid in nothing but her racer back sports bra. The scars were anywhere from two to six inches long and covered the middle and lower parts of her back. He ran a hand over the disfiguring markings that had troubled her for so long. The warm touch of his hand against her cold skin sent chills up and down her flesh. Reid pulled her back to him and covered them up again. She curled up against his bare chest and closed her eyes.

"It's been a long day," Reid whispered. "Go to sleep, beautiful." It wasn't long before she had done just that.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve  
Unexpected Reunion

Meckenzie awoke the next morning warm and comfortable in Reid's bed. She wrapped herself in this comforter and took in the smell, to her it was euphoric. He had gotten up and left to shower 20 minutes ago. She got out of the bed and quietly snuck into the hall. She crept back to her room and turned the knob. She glanced around before opening the door. When she looked in the room, the only thing she saw was her sister's bare back and most of Tyler's naked body.

"Shit! Anna, I'm sorry!" Meckenzie said pulling the door closed again. She heard various giggles and thumping before the door opened again and Tyler walked out in nothing but his pajamas pants carrying his t-shirt. "Looking good, Tyler," she giggled at him.

"Thanks," he replied, his face turning an embarrassed shade of red. When she was sure he was gone, Meckenzie went into her room.

"Anna, I'm so sorry. If I'd have known," Meckenzie said sitting on her bed.

"It's okay. I should have remembered to lock the door," Annalise said between laughs. "We were just about done anyways."

"And how long has this been going on?" Meckenzie asked.

"Oh, about a week."

"A week?! And you didn't even tell me?!"

"I was gonna!"

"When? When you got pregnant?"

"No, actually I was gonna tell you today."

"Well, okay, I guess I can live with that," Meckenzie told her sister.

"Where'd you go last night anyways?"

"Tyler was snoring, AGAIN, and it woke me up, AGAIN. So I went down and slept with Reid." Annalise sat grinning broadly at her sister. "Not like that you perve! We actually were sleeping, unlike you and Tyler."

"His snoring isn't that bad. At least it's not as bad as dad."

"No, you got me there, nothing is as bad as that."

"That's not the only thing that kept you up, is it? There's something else."

"Yeah, I had the dream again."

"**The** dream, as in the Chase dream?"

"That's the one."

"Why don't you just try erasing the memory?"

"Because, I want to remember why I hate him, why we're here," Meckenzie told her.

"Well, suit yourself. Did you tell him the whole story?"

"Everything, I think he had a right to know, they're all involved now."

"I guess you're right. When do you want to cast the spell?" Annalise asked.  
"I think we should wait until the last possible time. We need to leave them powerless for as little time as possible."

"I completely agree, so…"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Are we gonna tell the boys?" Annalise asked.

"Not until we absolutely have to."

"This is really going to piss them off."

"I'd rather have them pissed off then killed."

"I can see where you're coming from," Annalise told her.

"I'm sure you do."

Meckenzie and Reid were at Nicky's playing pool when the rest of the gang came in the front door. As usual, Caleb and Pogue headed straight for the foosball table.

"Meckenzie," was all Tyler said as he walked by dragging Annalise, hysterical with laughter.

"Tyler," Meckenzie replied trying to suppress a smile.

"What was that about?" Reid asked curiously.

"I…uhm…walked in on him and Annalise having sex this morning. She thought it was hilarious and I'm thinking he's still embarrassed," she told him calmly, taking her shot.

"Tyler! Come here!" Reid hollered.

"Reid, no! He's embarrassed enough as it is," Meckenzie told him.

"What's up?" Tyler asked as he and Annalise approached them. Pogue, not wanting to miss anything that might result in fun, followed.

"Did Meck really walk in on you and Anna?" Reid asked as Meckenzie buried her face in the back of his shirt, trying not to laugh.

"Uhm…" Tyler scratched the back of his head and looking around. "Yeah."

"You should really lock the door, man," Pogue said laughing.

"Well…I…Uhm," Tyler stammered.

"Whoa, boys look at that!" Pogue pointed at a waitress in a short skirt bent over the bar giving Nick an order. All three boys gawked at the sight.

"Reid, close your mouth," Meckenzie told him. "You're not a fish.

"I'm saying white cotton," Tyler said putting a $20 on the pool table, getting a nudge in the ribs from Annalise.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of playing this game?" she asked.

"No, not at all," he told her.

"You guys are pigs. Fine, pink cotton," Annalise said putting down another $20.

"Blue lace." Reid put his $20 down.

"Nothing." Pogue added yet another $20.

"Purple satin," Meckenzie said topping the pile with two ten-dollar bills. All of the people around her stared at her in response to her off the wall guess. "What? She doesn't seem like a cotton kind of girl." Meckenzie's eyes flashed black briefly and with a flick of her wrist, the front door burst open followed by a gust of wind that blew the waitress's skirt up revealing little purple satin panties.

"Thank you, boys!" Meckenzie said snatching up the pile of bills totaling $100. She handed Annalise half and put the rest in her pocket.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Tyler asked.

"Woman's intuition," Meckenzie told him with a grin, "plus, I was there when she bought them. I bought the same pair but different color." She heard to front door jingle open and looked to see who it was. "SOFIA!" All three girls ran to each other screaming and hugging.

"What are you doing here?!" Annalise asked her excitedly.

"Well, I couldn't let my two younger sisters fight the Elders alone, now could I?" she asked. "Plus, I've been looking for a reason to get out of that manor. Their hypocritical ways were driving me insane."

"How'd you get here?" Meckenzie asked.

"The same way you got back to the manor," Sofia told them. "And who are these good looking guys?"

"This is Tyler Simms, Pogue Parry, and Reid Garwin." Annalise introduced them, each guy nodding to the newcomer as his name was said. "Guys, this is Sofia Gabriel. She's been our best friend since we were little."

"It's nice to meet you all, but I thought that there were four of them," Sofia said.

"Oh, yeah. Over there is Caleb Danvers. He's with Sarah Wenham and Kate Tunney." Meckenzie pointed through the crowd at three people sitting at a table.

"Do the girls know?" Sofia asked.

"Chase drug them into it," Annalise informed her.

"Okay. Which one of you guys owns the black Ford F150 out there?"

"Uhm, I do," Reid told her.

"Oh, well I just thought I'd let you know, that's my duffle bag in the back."

"How'd you know it belonged to one of us?" he asked her puzzled.

"Someone's used their powers around it," she told them.

"That was me!" Annalise said raising her hand. Everyone looked at her. "What? I hid behind his truck and threw the ball at that guy the other night."

"Well, magic leaves a mark, sort of like a finger print, and if you know what to look for you can tell where it's been."

"That's actually kinda cool," Reid said. "Can you do that?" he asked Meckenzie.

"Yeah, you just never asked."

"You'll have to show me how to do it."

"Yeah, sure, that and the gym bag I gave Meckenzie for her birthday was in the front seat."

After Sofia had arrived, the group stayed at Nicky's for a couple of hours before heading to Caleb's extremely large house for the night. Meckenzie and Annalise were sitting on the front steps when Sofia came outside.

"What's this you guys want to talk to me about?" she asked sitting between the two girls.

"Well, we decided to bind the guys of their powers." Meckenzie got right to the point.

"Now, I'm really glad I came. How do you plan on doing that?" Sofia asked.

"We couldn't find anything in the book, so Meckenzie wrote a spell," Annalise told her.

"And when are you planning on doing this?"

"Tomorrow morning while they're still asleep," Meckenzie said.

"Do they know?"

"Not yet, we weren't planning on telling them until after we've done it," Meckenzie explained.

"That's probably best."

"We were wondering, when the time came, if you'd help us cast the spell? I don't know how it'll work and the more power behind it the more effective."

"Meckenzie, you know you didn't have to ask. I came here to help."

"Thanks."

"So, what's this I hear you guys have boyfriends? Who are they?"

"Well…we've been fraternizing with the enemy," Annalise told her.

"Ah ha, so they are the Sons! The Elders were right."

"Yeah, well, that'd be the first time," Meckenzie said.

"Are they good guys?" Sofia asked. "If they aren't then I can take care of them."

"Reid got up at like 3:00 this morning to sit with Meckenzie," Annalise told her.

"Yeah, because I couldn't sleep, AGAIN!" Meckenzie said.

"How come?" Sofia asked.

"Because Tyler was snoring, AGAIN," Meckenzie told her, glancing at Annalise.

"Don't lie. That's not the only reason!" Annalise said.

"Meckenzie," Sofia turned her attention to the other girl, "tell me what's going on."

"I had the dream again."

"Was it the one I'm thinking it was?" Sofia asked her.

"Yeah, it was."

"It was horrible and now it's over with. If this all goes right, which it will, there won't be anything to worry about," Sofia told her. "So, he really got up in the middle of the night because you couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah, he did," Meckenzie said smiling. "It was really sweet. Hey! Ask Annalise what happened this morning!"

"Lisey, do I even want to know?" Sofia asked grinning.

"Well…let's put it this way," Annalise said shyly, "we forgot to lock the door."

"Annalise!…that's actually kind of funny." All three girls broke out into laughter.

"Yeah, that's what I thought when Meckenzie walked in. Tyler thought it was embarrassing though."

"Anna, come here!" Tyler shouted out a window above their heads.

"Okay, I'll be right up!" she shouted back. When she stood to go, she noticed Reid coming to them. "Come on, Sofia. I've got something to show you." Both girls went into the house and up the stairs. Reid sat next to Meckenzie on the steps.

"So, what's gonna happen tomorrow?" he asked her.

"I'm not entirely sure. I wish I was."

"And there's nothing we can do?"

"No, you won't be able to."

"So, what's up with Sofia?"

"She lived at the manor with us. Her mom died when she was 10 and was sent to be watched over by the Elders and to go through her training."

"So she's not really another sister?" he asked.

"Not biologically, no. When we were all younger we did the whole blood pact thing. You know, cut the palm and put your hands together, let the blood mix. It's really quit gross now, but technically her blood runs through my veins and mine hers. We practically grew up together, the three of us."

"So you guys might as well be sisters."

"Yeah."

"Come on. It's getting late, let's go to bed."

Meckenzie stayed awake while everyone else fell asleep. She kept randomly looking at her watch, keeping track of the time. When she was sure all the guys were completely asleep, she got up, careful not to wake Reid.

"Anna, Sofia, come on," she whispered. The two other girls got up immediately so she knew they hadn't been asleep either. Meckenzie leaned over the sleeping Reid and grabbed a few folded up pieces of paper out of her bag. She kissed him gently on the forehead before going into the next room with the other girls.

"Okay, let's do this quickly," Annalise said closing the door behind them.

The three girls sat in a circle in the middle of the room. Meckenzie unfolded one of the papers and set it down so they could all read it. Their eyes exploded to black the moment their hands touched. Leaning over the paper, they read together:

"I take your thoughts in mine  
And with this spell I will entwine  
Your powers I will now bind  
For now until I think it's time"

"Do you think it worked?" Annalise asked.

"We'll find out tomorrow," Meckenzie said. She handed each girl another of the papers, they each contained four lines. "You have to memorize this. It's the spell to unbind the boys' powers. If at anytime tomorrow that we absolutely need their help all you have to do is think the lines, read them to yourself. It'll work, that's why I worded it 'until I _think_ it's time.' But only if we absolutely need them, we can't take the chance of someone attacking them at the wrong time."

"Come on girls, let's go back to bed," Sofia said standing up again. Annalise and Sofia left the room, leaving Meckenzie alone. She stood up and stared out the window.

"Take their powers blessed be  
Multiply their strength by three."

"_That'll take care of those two,_" she thought to herself.

Meckenzie returned to the other room, curled herself back up with Reid, and finally fell asleep.

* * *

-AN: okay, so I've kindda hit a writers block...don't know how long it'll take to come up with the next chapter...i'll get it out as soon as i could 


	14. Chapter 13

AN- sorry this took so long to get out. It's been kind of hard to write lately. i'm working on the next chapter and hopefully that one will be out qucker than this one was

Chapter 13  
Anticipated Arrival

Meckenzie pulled the long piece of black fabric out of her duffle bag and shook it out. She couldn't believe that all three of them still had their cloaks after so long. She draped it over the back of a chair next to Annalise and Sofia's cloaks. Bending over, she pushed her feet into her shin length boots and pulled the zippers up, they were her favorite pair. She carefully jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen to join the rest of the group.

"What's for breakfast?" Meckenzie asked. The group of people just stared at her.

"No one's cooked anything," Tyler told her.

"Not everyone can cook like you do," Annalise told her. "Besides, Caleb and Reid went to get some doughnuts." Meckenzie pulled Annalise out into the hall.

"You let them leave. You know what could happen to them." Meckenzie snarled.

"It's ok. Sofia went with them," Annalise told her.

"I still can't believe you guys let them go out." The front door closed hard and Meckenzie heard the three doughnut clad people walking down the hall. She meandered back into the kitchen. Caleb set his bag down and Tyler immediately rummaged through the bag like a raving lunatic.

"Dude, Tyler, chill man. You can take it a little slower. They'll be there ten second from now," Pogue told him.

"Shut up, man." Tyler threw a hand towel at Pogue.

Sofia unloaded all the bags onto the counter and threw the bags in the trash. The eight of them devoured all the doughnuts in less than ten minutes and sat around the kitchen when everything was cleaned up. Katie sat staring at Meckenzie for a minute.

"What's on your mind? Is there something wrong, Meck? You seem lost in thought," she asked her.

"Actually, yeah there is something," Meckenzie said walking over and putting her hands on the sink. She was staring down the drain, willing to look anywhere but where she should. "We bound your powers…last night."

Meckenzie sat in the windowsill of the room upstairs. Reid had been furious and stormed out of the kitchen in a huff. She was going to follow him but Caleb had told her to wait, give him some time. So she had made her way up to this room. It was quiet and private. She had never wanted to be more alone than now in her whole life. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead against the cool glass. It wasn't very long before she saw Reid walk out the front door and head towards the woods. Sofia was close on his tail trying to keep up.

"Hey, Blondie. Slow your over reactive ass down!" Sofia hollered after him as they reached the edge of the woods.

"Over reacting! You think I'm over reacting! She stole from us! Took what was most ours!" He yelled at her coming to a stop.

"How do you think this makes her feel, having to be the one to actually do it?"

"How it makes her feel?! What about me, about the other guys? Don't we get a say in this?"

"No, as a matter of fact, you don't. She wouldn't have done it unless she believed it was absolutely necessary," Sofia was now yelling at the top of her lungs, just like Reid.

"Unless she believed it was necessary! Fuck her!"

Sofia pulled back and punched him full forced in the face, knocking Reid backward on his butt. "I'll let you off with **just** that. Only because I know how pissed off I would be if that were me. I also know how much you really love her and that's what makes this situation even worse. But if I ever, **ever **hear that you have spoken to or about her in that way again, I will make sure you don't get back up again." Sofia held out a hand to haul Reid up off the ground. He took her hand and she pulled him up again. "Just calm your ass down and take a look at this from her point of view."

"And what would that be?" Reid looked at skeptically.

"Meckenzie wouldn't do anything to cause any of you pain or injury. She loves you all, I've never seen her like this with anybody. She was told that not one of you would be able to do anything in this, she only did what she believed was right."

"I can't believe that she didn't say anything to us before. We could have figured out another way."

"There was no other way."

Meckenzie was still sitting in the window when she heard someone coming up the steps behind her. She remained staring out the window.

"Kenzie," Reid said moving closer. "Look, I'm sorry about blowing up earlier. I was just so surprised. It wasn't something I would have expected from you."

"Life isn't what we always expect it to be," she said coolly.

"If there's anyone here that should be mad it should be me. I'm the one who had their powers taken away unexpectedly."

"Yeah, well, if I could trade places with you I would," she told him resting her forehead against the cool glass once again.

"What's the matter with you? You're acting ever more unusual than normal lately."

"It's you, it's me, it's everybody in this freakin' house. I've never been like this before." Meckenzie pushed her hands through her hair. "Before we came here, I was a loner, always concentrating on my powers and training. Never spent much time with anybody but Annalise, Sofia, or other people from the manor. Then we came here and met you, the guys, Sarah, and Kate. I don't even recognize myself anymore. I'm a completely different person, having fun, hanging out, being normal." She stood up to face him. "Jesus Christ, Reid! What happened to your face?!"

"Sofia punched me."

"What?! Why?" She reached up to touch the bruise forming around his eyes. It was turning disgusting shades of black, purple, and an awful green. Reid flinched at even the gentlest touch from Meckenzie.

"I, uhm, said something I probably shouldn't have. It was well deserved."

"Nobody deserves to walk around with a face like a child's ugly painting. Let me fix that for you." She placed a hand on either side of his face.

"Nah, it's really okay, really. Oh, God." A warm, tingling sensation spread from the palms of her hands all the way through his face. She smiled at him as the harsh coloring faded away and back to normal.

"There, now isn't that better?" she asked him.

"Very much so." Reid slid his arms around Meckenzie's waist and puller her closer to him. "You always make me feel better." He softly pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened herself to him.

"And you always make me feel so damned sexy," she whispered into his ear. She pressed her lips to his once again. He ran his hands down around her butt and up again. Exploring all the curves of her body, her butt, waist, breast, committing them to memory, taking as much of her in as he could.

Meckenzie, all of a sudden, didn't see Reid, but four men in black, riding in an equally black car. Their faces hard and stern as rock. Meckenzie knew immediately who they were and where they were going.

As quickly as it had gone, Reid's face reappeared in her line of vision. She collapsed to the floor, breathing hard. Visions often took a lot of energy.

"Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" Reid crouched down and sat her up, supporting her weight.

"They're coming."

Meckenzie was running down the stairs, her heels clicking as she descended, with Reid close on her tail. She reached the bottom and used the banister to swing herself in the opposite direction. She ran straight into the Danvers' sitting room and saw Tyler and Caleb tending to Annalise and Sofia. Meckenzie stopped dead in the doorway with Reid right behind her.

"So, you saw it too?" Meckenzie asked.

"Yes," Annalise said.

"There were four of them," Sofia told her.

"In a black car," Meckenzie confirmed.

"I didn't think that they'd be here this early," Kate piped up from her spot on the couch.

"Yeah, well, neither did we," Annalise told her.

"How long do you think we have before they get here?" Sarah asked.

"Judging by where they were not very long at all," Sofia. "Ten maybe fifteen minutes at the most. You guys need to get upstairs now, though."

"I completely agree," Caleb said somberly. "We don't want to be seen when they get here."

Everyone made their way upstairs. They had chosen the room that they had slept in for the safe room. Extra locks had been added to the doors as a safety measure but everyone knew that they'd be no good if someone really wanted to get in. Annalise and Sofia went into the room next to the "safe room" while everyone else except Meckenzie went into the safe room. She made to close the door when Reid stepped out.

"Be safe," he told her, as he took as step closer to him. He pulled her into a hug.

"Reid, I'm scared. I'm so scared," she murmured as she buried her face into his shirt. She cried softly.

"I know, I know. It's going to be all right. You'll get through this, I'll get through this, we'll all be all right. When this is all over we'll put it all this behind us. It's going to be okay." He held tight onto her, wishing he could make it all go away, but knowing he couldn't do anything at all. "Now, you have to go. They need you."

"I'll be back," she told him, wiping the tears from her eyes.


	15. Chapter 14

AN: Okay, so, you guys are going to have to bear with me…this chapter is ridiculously long. I didn't know where a good place to split it was so I just kept it really, really long. It should make for an interesting read though, so enjoy. Please R & R.

Chapter 14  
Power War

Three hooded, cloaked figures came around the side of the Danvers manor and into the driveway where four men stood waiting.

"Where are the others?" the tallest of the men asked.

"This is our fight not theirs, Donovan," Meckenzie told him.

"Oh, but the Elders beg to differ," said the man named Carter.

"Yeah, well, the Elders don't always get what they want," Annalise replied.

"Well, I see the Elders are training their 'toy warriors' younger and younger every year," Sofia said.

"Hello, Sofia, sweetheart. I see you're just as beautiful as ever," one of the other men told her.

"Evan, it's so nice to see you again. Keeping well, I hope?" Sofia said.

"Oh, just fine since I figured out how to undo that love curse you put on me."

"Well, I did tell you I'd get back at you for cheating on me."

"You're so intelligent and beautiful. It's a shame I'm gonna have to waste you."

"The only thing getting 'wasted' here is your sorry ass," Sofia told him.

"If you had just done what you were told we wouldn't have been sent here," said the forth man.

"Alex, we've known each other since we were like, what, five six? You know I only do what I'm told when I feel like it," Meckenzie said with a sneer.

"Yeah, I always liked that about you," Alex told her.

"Oh, you had your chance two years ago. Remember?"

"How could I forget? But then the Elders gave me a chance of a lifetime. How could I give this up?" he asked her.

"You left me when I needed you most. And what's more, you didn't even say good-bye." Meckenzie said. She was starting to feel the unwanted feelings all over again. It was making her angry.

"I thought you'd understand," he said.

"Alex! I needed you! When you left I felt alone and angry. Other than these two, you were the only thing I had, the only non-female companion I had. And you left me. If it weren't for Annalise and Sofia I would have went crazy. Kind of like the way I am now." Her palms burst into bright blue energy balls. She threw them forward at Alex, he dodged them and they blew up a tree.

"Is that all you got, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Let's take this away from the house," Annalise said.

"And just where do you think we should go?" Donovan asked.

"Well, in a perfect world you'd go to hell and leave us alone. But since we live in the real world there's a nice sized clearing just inside the woods."

"Okay, fine. Have it your way." Donovan snapped his fingers and both groups of people appeared in the clearing. Before she realized it the ground seemed to explode at Meckenzie's feet.

Meckenzie pulled off the chain with ¼" links that she had wrapped around her wrist a few times and lashed out with it, hitting Alex across the cheek. He touched his fingers to the blood that started to seep from the shallow gash.

"I see you've gotten better with that thing," Alex said.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Meckenzie said with a chilled tone. She shoved two energy balls at him and dodged one that came from Donovan. She threw two more back at him. Stealing a quick glance, Meckenzie saw Annalise thrown at tree by Carter, get up, and start launching energy again.

"You okay over there?" Meckenzie hollered.

"Yeah, it just tickled a bit," Annalise shouted back.

"Sofia?" Meckenzie ducked as something went flying at her head.

"I'm okay." Sofia was levitating chunks of trees and throwing them at Evan between ducking blows from him.

Meckenzie threw an energy ball each at Alex and Donovan. Donovan's caught him in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Alex was more prepared and sent on of his own to deflect it. Meckenzie was starting to become angry again. Her anger mixed with fear. She tried to form another energy ball but instead magically enforced ropes sprang from her palms and wrapped themselves around Alex, binding his arms to his sides. After a moment of surprise, Meckenzie tried for the ropes again. They flew from her palms and bound a struggling Alex to a tree. She turned her attention back to Donovan.

"Cute trick," he laughed.

"You're just jealous that you can't do that," Meckenzie told him, throwing energy at him. One nicked his shoulder and the other barely missed his head. Donovan returned the blow two fold, one hitting Meckenzie in the chest and another taking her out at the knees. He stood over her, laughing.

"I knew this would be easy but I didn't think you'd make it this easy."

"I won't make anything easy for you as long as you're trying to kill me," she said glaring at him. She lashed out with her chain again, catching and wrapping it around his throat. She pulled herself up off her knees and yanked on the chain tightening it, causing him to gasp for breath.

"You wanna hear a funny story?" Meckenzie asked, yanking on the chain. "I actually looked up to you. I remember watching you train as a kid. And then a few years later, you were my first crush. I remember how good-looking I thought you were. I'd try to catch your attention anyway I could. I was excited when I found out you'd be training me. I eventually grew out of it, figured I'd never appeal to you and I quit trying. It's a shame the Elders sent my tutor after me." She chuckled and yanked on the chain again. She flicked her wrist and the chain snapped back and circled around it again. Before Donovan could catch his breath, Meckenzie launched two energy balls at him. She turned around and looked at the other two girls. Annalise was throwing one ball after another and Sofia was alternating between throwing energy balls and things lying on the ground. Donovan was still trying to pick himself up, when Meckenzie noticed Alex was gone.

"Where'd he go?!" Meckenzie yelled.

"Where'd who go?" Sofia asked.

"Alex!"

"I didn't know he was gone," said Annalise.

"You go look for him. We'll be fine here," Sofia told Meckenzie.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah! Go!" Annalise hollered.

Meckenzie left Annalise and Sofia and started running through the trees toward the house, the edge of her cloak snapping at her heels. She bound up the front steps of the manor and took the stairs to the second floor two at a time, dropping the cloak as she went. She burst open the door at the top of the stairs and found Alex finishing tying up and gagging the others.

"I told you to leave them alone," Meckenzie said sternly.

"Yeah, well, like you I don't listen very well," Alex said with a snicker.

"You need to listen to me very well." Meckenzie glared at him. "You have absolutely no reason to mess with these innocents."

"Innocents? As far as I can see there are only two of those here. These other four are the Sons of Ipswich, nowhere near innocents."

"Yeah, well that's where your eyes fail you, _mon amour_. They are indeed the famous Sons of Ipswich, but no power means innocents and therefore untouchable to you. So, kindly step away and we'll finish this ourselves," Meckenzie said.

"What do you mean no power?" Alex appeared stunned.

"You must have skipped class that day. It's easy really, a simple binding spell goes a long way," Meckenzie said with a grin.

"Devious, intelligent. I always admired your intellect and beauty." Alex stood up straight and walked to her.

"Apparently, it wasn't enough for you, huh? But, I've moved on, bigger and better," she told him.

"Oh, yeah, I heard," he scoffed. "But I still think you can't get much better than me."

"You seem so sure of yourself."

"You have no idea," he told her.

Alex, unexpectedly, pulled Meckenzie to him and pressed his lips hard to hers. He held her there for a few moments before letting her pull away. "That was for me," he said quietly. "And this, is for you." A 6" bladed dagger formed out of nowhere and into his palm. He spun around launching it in the direction of the bound people. It wedged itself into Reid's shoulder and he grimaced through his gag.

Meckenzie lashed out her chain again, catching him around the neck and yanked him the few feet to her. "You touch any of them again and I'll kill you," she said through clenched teeth.

"I think it's funny that you assume your powers could even match mine." Alex laughed at her.

"You know, it wasn't so long ago that we were considered equals, you and I. But like I said, if you ever touch one of my friends again, I will kill you," she told him as serious as ever. Alex laughed again.

"I'd love to see you try." He held out his hand like he was gripping something and twisted. The dagger in Reid's shoulder twisted with his hand, causing Reid to groan in pain and more blood to soak into his shirt.

"Knock it off Alex!" Meckenzie shouted.

"Oh, is this hurting him?" Alex asked. He twisted his hand again and Reid groaned louder.

Meckenzie's eyes flashed black with immense anger and she held out her hand, palm up. The dagger came cleanly out of Reid's should and soared across the room and into her hand, causing him to slump forward.

She flicked it out again at Alex and when he grabbed for it, he missed and it lodged itself into his hand. He pulled I tout and threw it sideways and into the doorjamb. He pitched two energy balls at Meckenzie and she ducked out of the way. Each passing moment was making here even more furious. She threw open her hands and two new balls formed. These new ones surprised even Meckenzie. They were a deep, electric, glowing purple and seemed to be covered in an equally bright and electric blue flame. She thrust them at Alex with such force they hit him in the chest causing him to crash through the window. He fell to the ground with a soft thump.

Meckenzie pulled the dagger out of the doorway, rushed over, and started cutting her friends loose. She pulled off Reid's gag.

"Jesus Christ! What is wrong with that guy?" he asked.

"He's a jerk," she told him.

"Uh, yeah, you aren't joking." He grimaced when she brushed his shoulder. "That hurts like hell."

"He never used to be like that. We've known each other since we were really little, practically brother and sister. We were told once that we might have even ended up together. Then the Elders wanted to make him one of their warriors and he left." Meckenzie ripped the sleeve off of his shirt to get a better look. "Ah, shit. That's what I thought," she said looking at the wound.

"What did you think?" Tyler asked.

"The daggers. They're old school fighting daggers, laced with poison. If Alex did it then it won't be as potent as intended, he was never very good an mixing."

"How can you tell?" Sarah asked.

"See how the outer edge has a bit of glitter to it?" she asked pointing it out. "And the coloring has a tinge of blue to it. They're the key symptoms of what the poison does, especially the glitter and gleam. It's starting to make its way through the blood stream. After a little while, all of the blood vessels will glitter like that. And that's bad."

"So, what does that mean?" Kate asked her.

"Can you do anything?" Caleb asked at the same time.

"I can remove most of the poison out and heal the wound, but not completely. He'll live but it'll hurt like nothing you've ever felt," she said.

"Uhm, guys…Fly Boy's gone," Pogue said looking out the window.

"Great," Sarah huffed.

"Just do it," Reid told Meckenzie.

"Okay." She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Caleb, Pogue, you're gonna have to hold him down. Tyler, I need you to get some water or orange juice if you can find it. Sarah, Kate, blankets, he's going to be very cold." The three of them rushed out of the room and were back with what she asked for in a matter of minutes. "Okay, here we go."

Caleb and Pogue grabbed a hold of Reid who was lying on the floor in front of where Meckenzie was kneeling. "Whatever you do, no matter how much he screams, pleads, or thrashes, don't let go. He'll only hurt himself more," she told them. She got an agreeing headshake from both.

"Great," Reid mumbled under his breath.

Meckenzie placed both hands on his bloody shoulder and pressed down slightly. Reid gasped, then a warm, tingly sensation started to spread from her palms.

"It's not really that bad. Kinda nice actually," he said.

"Just wait for it," she told him calmly.

After a few seconds the warm, tingly feeling turned to a hot throbbing pain. The pain increased in heat and intensity until Reid started to squirm. As it got worse, he thrashed more, making it hard for Caleb and Pogue to hold on. Reid started to groan.

"Don't let go!" Meckenzie said pushing down harder. The pain started to become unbearable and Reid kept thrashing more and more, his body felt like it was on fire.

"Make it stop! Just make it stop, Meckenzie!" he hollered.

"Just a little longer. I know how much it hurts, sweetie. Give it a few more moments and it'll be all over. Okay?" Meckenzie said soothingly.

"It burns!"

"I know, but you'll be better when it's over," she told him.

"Just make the pain go away. I can't take it anymore." Tears started to flow from the blue eyes she loved so much and it brought tears to her own. Meckenzie pressed as hard as she could, trying to hurry the process as much as possible. When she let up, his body stopped thrashing and he tried to speak. "So c-cold," he murmured, shivering.

"Shh," she said, stroking his sweat drenched hair. "Just let it go. It's alright." Meckenzie passed her other hand over his face. Reid closed his eyes and quickly passed out. She got up and shoved the dagger into her waistband as Sarah covered Reid with the blanket. "He should be awake soon," she said before leaving the room. Caleb went out after her.

"How'd you know to do that?" he asked curiously, following her down the stairs. She stopped half way down and lifted her shirt, revealing a scar on her ribs two inches long.

"I've had it happen to me. Only whoever mixed the poison, did it a little better than Alex. It was a training accident, someone brought out the wrong set and I didn't more fast enough when it was thrown."

"And someone did that to you?" he asked gesturing back into the room.

"Yeah, my tutor, Donovan, one of the guys outside. We didn't realize what was really happening until a little later. Two guys held me down while I screamed and pleaded, pretty much the way Reid did. It took six hours for me to wake up. He should only need about fifteen, twenty minutes at the most. Just enough to regain some strength."

"That's tough. How bad did it hurt?"

"It's like your whole body is in a vice while being on fire. Someone keeps tightening the vice and the flames keep getting hotter and hotter until you think you're going to explode," she explained. "Now, I have to go." Meckenzie turned away and left Caleb staring after her.

When she emerged into the clearing, Annalise and Sofia weren't looking good. They looked worn and tired, but still kept doing their best. None of them had heard her come back. Meckenzie pulled the dagger out of her waistband and with precise aim threw it into Alex's chest piercing his heart and he fell to the ground. She calmly walked to him and put her foot on the hilt of the dagger.

"I told you that if you touched them again, I'd kill you." She stepped down, shoving the dagger deeper in and Alex screamed in anguish. She looked down at his face and into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he told her, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Yeah," she said, her eyes tearing up as well. "So am I." She looked up at the sound of a scream and saw Annalise pulling a similar looking, but non-lethal dagger out of her side.

"Damn it! This is my favorite shirt!" she screamed as she threw it back at Carter followed by two blows of her own.

Sofia was covered in scraps and scratches but still fighting on.

Meckenzie didn't notice Donovan behind her until she felt his blows to her back, they knocked her to her knees and she jumped up again. She formed two energy balls of her own, these being once again the purple with blue flame. She thrust them forward one then the other and two more formed in their place instantly.

Blow after blow was thrown back and forth. Trees erupted, wood, bark, leaves, grass, was flying everywhere. Meckenzie was crouched behind a tree momentarily catching her breath when energy rope much like the ones she had used on Alex earlier wrapped themselves around her. Donovan came around the other side of the tree.

"To ease on your offense, even momentarily, shows weakness. In battle weakness causes death. I will admit you girls lasted longer than I thought you would. You put up an enormous fight; we are just as tired and worn out as you are. I am seriously impressed with your ability, even with only the normal training," Donovan told her.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me that you are so impressed with us because that's my life goal: to please your stupid ass. Donovan, you're such an asshole." She spit at him and hit his boots. He slapped her across the face, hard.

"That is a filthy habit." He rubbed the tip of his boot across the grass. "I will say, also, that your new energy ball is quite nice. It's different; unlike I've ever seen. But what impressed me the most was the fact that you did in Alex. I didn't think you'd be abler to do it. You two were inseparable."

"That wasn't Alex, not the one that I knew and loved. My Alex was warm and caring, not the cold heartless man you brought here. He knew the right way. The man here today was what was left after you guys killed him. He died the day the Elders gave him the position. He was my friend and I miss him."

"That's the thing about you girls, so sappy. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't really want to; he was born to do it. It's a shame, though you were my best student. I would have loved to have you for one of our warriors."

"You knew I'd never do it."

"True, I did know that. It's still a pity. You would have been superb. But the Elders told us that you had to go, so here we are. You should have just done the job and gotten it over with the first time. Then you wouldn't have to die."

"I may die but you are going to hell." Meckenzie had a satisfying smirk on her face.

"Oh really, how do you know?" Donovan asked her wondrously.

"Unlike you I studied spells." Meckenzie whispered something under her breath.

"Let me who is awaken from my sleep  
Return that once to slumber deep  
Protect me now body and mind  
Protect me now from evil's line"

"Wait a minute, what was that?" Donovan asked.

"That was nothing compared to what coming now." Meckenzie could feel blackness starting to come over her. She started feeling very tired and found it hard to think. _What was that spell again?_ She thought to herself. _I'm really, really tired all of a sudden. Wait a minute I remember it now._

"Guiding spirits hear my plea  
Annul this magic, let it be  
The bind which was not to be done  
Give me power to see it undone"

Meckenzie repeated the spell over and over again in her mind, letting the sleep take over her. The last thing she saw before blackness took over her was Donovan winding up for one last blow.

The others had been watching what was going on from the window in the room upstairs. Kate screamed when Meckenzie collapsed on the ground. Reid slammed his fist against the window. The glass burst from inside the pane as a blue energy ball soared from Reid's fist.

"Holy shit," he said. "Uhm, guys." He turned around showed them the power forming in his hands. "I think they need us."

The four guys ran down the stairs and out the front doors. They ran full blast until they came to the small clearing just inside the woods surrounding the Danvers manor.

* * *

ok, yeah really long...i think the longest yet. it's not as good as could have been writen but it'll do for now. 


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: okay, so when i originally posted this, the spaces didn't insert the way i wanted them, it won't let me put in just spaces like i've done so many times before. i looked it over when i was told a couple of time it was confusing so i came and fixed it. now it should be a little better!

Chapter 15  
Unexpected Surprise

Meckenzie slowly opened her eye, letting them take their time bringing things into focus. She put a hand to her forehead and groaned.

"I've got the freakin' mother load of headaches," she said to no one in particular. Looking around she noticed that she was alone.

She got off the bed and wandered around the room looking at all the stuff. Swimming medals hung from a nail on the wall, pictures lined the desk, and dirty clothes lay in a heap in the corner. It was Caleb's room. She picked up a picture and stood looking at it. It was the eight of them sitting on the bleachers by the pool. She had the same one in her dorm. After putting it down she turned and walked out the room.

Walking down the stairs, she realized just how much her body ached. She felt like she had been put threw a meat tenderizer. Now that she was up and moving her muscles and joints started feeling stiff. At the bottom of the stairs, Meckenzie stepped into the kitchen and found all of her friends sitting around the table eating take-out Chinese from the white boxes.

"Oh, look, Sleeping Beauty lives," Sofia said.

"Just barely, trust me," Meckenzie told her, taking Reid's fork and eating a bite of his broccoli. "What time is it?"

"It's about 5:30," Caleb told her looking at her watch. "You've been asleep for about five hours. You must be starved; sit, have something to eat." Meckenzie sat between Reid and Annalise, pulled a box of sesame shrimp to her, and started eating with chopsticks.

"Hey, Meck, what happened with you and Donovan? He took a shot at you and it rebounded back at him," Annalise told her. "It was kind of cool really."

"He was going to kill me," Meckenzie said sullenly. "The only thing I could think of was a deep sleep spell coupled with a protection spell. I was hoping it would have a good effect."

"What about Alex?" Sofia asked.

"I don't want to talk about him," Meckenzie said staring into her dinner. "Not yet."

* * *

Meckenzie sat on her bed in the dorm, waiting for Reid to return from taking a shower. Sitting staring off into space, thinking, she pulled the blankets up to her chin. Reid walked in rubbing a towel over his wet hair. 

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked sitting down next to her.

"No," she replied quietly. She held out the blanket and he crawled under with her. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "I'm still a little shaken."

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"I've known all of those guys for years. Donovan was my tutor. Other than Sofia and Annalise, Alex was my best friend. We had history and there was talk of a future. He was so different today, not like he used to be. He was cold, almost uncaring. He used to be so nice, fun, adventurous. Like a brother to me only more. And I killed him. I actually ended a life. I'm just as bad as they made him."

"No, no, you're not. You're so much better."

"I knew if it wasn't him it would have been me."

"That's exactly what would have happened. They changed the man you used to know. From what I saw, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill you."

"I know, but I still miss him. You didn't see the look in his eyes when he realized it was all over. He told me he was sorry. He apologized and I still did it. I killed him and I feel so so…unnatural, ugly." Reid threw the blanket off, got out of bed, and stood facing the full body mirror the girls had brought in their room.

"Come here," he told her. Meckenzie got out of bed and stood in front of hij facing the mirror. "What do you see?"

Meckenzie stared at her reflection, looking herself up and down. "I look worn down, tired. Not myself."

"Well, when I look," he wrapped his arms around her waist, "I see nothing but you. And you're beautiful." He laid a soft kiss on her neck. "Every time I look at you," he kissed her again on the other side, "I love you that much more." Meckenzie turned around to face him.

"Do you really?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"Yes." He held her lips in a kiss. She ran her hands up his chest and around the back of his neck, pressing herself to him as close as possible. Reid pulled away slightly.

"Only if you want to," he told her quietly. She pulled his t-shirt up over his head.

"I wouldn't let you if I didn't." She pressed her lips against his again. Reid's hands roamed over her body and tugged off her shirt.

"Stop, just a second," she told him. She locked the door to the dorm room and pulled him down on the bed.

* * *

Meckenzie lay with her head on his chest tracing lines with her finger. 

"I can hear your heartbeat," she told him.

"I should hope so," he chuckled. "Or else I'd be really sad and you'd look pretty strange laying here with a dead guy." He kissed the top of her head.

"You're so warm," she told him and snuggled closer.

"Go to sleep, I know you're tired. It's been a long day." Meckenzie closed her eyes and drifted peacefully to sleep.

* * *

Meckenzie and Reid ran down the hallway of the dorm laughing hysterically. He grabbed a hold of her outside of her room and swung her around. 

"That was not funny," he told her.

"I think it was hilarious," she said laughing. The put her hand to the doorknob and opened the door. Turning to go into the room, both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw who was sitting at the desk.

"Hello, cousin," Chase said grinning mischievously. "I believe that you have something I want."

* * *

**ok, i know it's really really short but you get that sometimes. i'm probably going to work on a sequal whether or not one is warented. but i'd love to know what you all thought of this one and if another one would be read. so just let me know and i'll get the first chapter out as soon as i can!  
-meghan**


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